My Gentle Barn

February 1, 2014
How one woman's childhood dream to save animals came true. For Laks, the world of animals was always more real than that of humans. She didn't understand the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of babysitters, but surrounded by animals and nature, she found solace and meaning. "The force that drove me to be with animals defied all reason," she writes. "I was compelled to have them near me no matter what. I began feeling little whispers deep inside--not in words, just in knowing." This drive continued into adulthood, through three years of crack use, and ultimately pushed Laks to become an animal rescuer. She started out small and quickly discovered a huge world of animals in desperate need of salvation. Dogs, cats, goats, pigs, horses, rabbits, chickens--Laks' Gentle Barn filled with one animal after another, which she brought back from the brink of euthanasia, disease and neglect, nursing the animals with a combination of unconditional love and respect and healthy foods and supplements. Knowing how happy the animals made her feel, Laks opened her barnyard to at-risk kids, foster children and the general public, teaching people how to read animal body language and show respect to their fellow creatures. The overwhelming response was positive for animals and humans alike. Despite financial setbacks and a failed marriage, Laks remained true to her animals. In the process, she found new love. Her stories of animal rescues, oftentimes from desperate and horribly filthy circumstances, are filled with the sensitivity and kindheartedness she shows her animals. Her honesty and success stories open the door to the world of animal care and cruelty, forcing readers to contemplate the lines among animals as pets, objects and food. Descriptive and sensitive stories of one woman and the animals she rescued from abuse and death.

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Starred review from February 15, 2014
The saga of Laks and her animal sanctuary is enormously compelling. She grew up loving animals in a family that could not understand her empathy for disposable pets. Struggling to find her way, she fought drug addiction and then successfully started a dog-rescue operation in her spare bedroom. Determined to change the world, Laks rescued animals from a dilapidated petting zoo and then expanded to accept pigs, horses, and more on a multiacre ranch outside Los Angeles. With brutal honesty, she acknowledges the missteps in her first marriage that became a casualty to her rescue efforts, but then she recounts the happiness she found with a volunteer who became her soul mate. The two found enormous personal and professional success as they reached out to at-risk youth and became leading voices in the movement to extend rescue efforts to farm animals. Laks brings so much raw emotion to her narrative that readers will find themselves moved to tears over the lives of goats and cows. Intimate, powerful, and shocking in its revelations about the food we eat, My Gentle Barn is not easily forgotten. This is a book to talk about and return to; it's a life changer, plain and simple.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)