My New Book, The Bond: How You Can Get Involved

I’d like to enlist your help, and ask you to take a few moments and get involved in the promotion of my new book, The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them to be published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, on April 5. The book is part manifesto, part memoir, but it’s certainly a big-picture look at the major debates about how humans treat animals—delving into the issues of seal hunting, whaling, factory farming, animal fighting, puppy mills, and other major concerns; chronicling the fights of the past years; highlighting the battles ahead; and calling out the people and groups standing in the way. 

In the beginning of the book, I explain my views on the instinctive connection we have with other animals—which I call the bond. In the middle part of the book, I describe how that bond has been broken in so many ways. And at the end, I try to provide a roadmap on how we can restore the bond and find a better way of living with animals and not leaving a trail of animal victims in our wake.

You and thousands of others can also help to promote the book—and the ideas that make up the book—by participating in a photo contest organized by HarperCollins to showcase images that celebrate your own special relationship with an animal in your life. You can enter your photo here before 5 p.m. Eastern on April 4. One grand prize winner of “The Bond Contest” will have their photo featured on humanesociety.org, have $1,000 donated in their name to the HSUS Shelter Partner of their choice, and receive a signed copy of The Bond.

Here are the guidelines for entering the photo contest:

• The photo should feature you and an animal with whom you share a special bond.
• Each entry must be accompanied by a caption describing this bond in 70 words or less.
• Images must be good quality, crisp, and clear.
• You must be the parent or legal guardian of any child that appears in the photo.
• You are limited to five contest entries.

To get you in the right frame of mind, please take a look at the latest video about The Bond and see what others are saying about it.

You can also vote two times per day for your favorite entries at www.thebondcontest.com. Judging will be done in two rounds—the first round will be determined by public voting, and the second round will be judged by a panel of HarperCollins employees.

Next month, I’ll be visiting more than a dozen cities to talk about The Bond at local bookstores. Please join me if any of these locations are near you. I’m looking forward to sharing my story with you and reaching even more people about restoring the bond with animals and building a society that exhibits an active concern for other creatures.

P.S. You can find out how to preorder the book here.

P.P.S. By purchasing The Bond, you’ll also support the Humane Society of the United States’ work to celebrate animals and confront cruelty, since The HSUS is receiving a portion of the advances paid by the publisher and possible future royalties.