Animal Voices: Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life will blow you away! Your perceptions of the human race as a higher species will go right out the window and you will view the animal kingdom in an entirely new light. If you are a skeptic, it will make you stop and look closely at every animal you meet.

Dawn Baumann Brunke begins the book with an explanation of how she got involved with interspecies communication. She attempts to explain how it works, even though this explanation defies common rationale. There are four primary means of communication with animals:
• Clairvoyance: seeing things that the animal is seeing or seeing experiences the animal has had.
• Clairaudience: hearing sounds or words within the mind.
• Clairsentience: the entire realm of feeling, which can include taste, smell and physical sensations.
• Intuition: inner knowing or insight.

There are many animal communicators in this country and around the world. Brunke has interviewed or working with several of them during the creation of this book. She has utilized them as interpreters for animals during interviews. At first, she relied solely upon other communicators for these interviews. But eventually, one of them suggested she try it herself. This opened a whole new world for her.

After introducing us to the art of animal communication, Brunke begins interviewing animals. These interviews will get you on the edge of your seat or in the floor rolling. Most have serious instructions or advice for humans, but there are hilarious moments scattered throughout. My favorite of the funny animal comments came from a cockatiel that did not want to be eaten by an airplane. The passage that moved me most was the turtle's advice for humans to learn to accept what they have and stop always wanting more and better.

The author braves the issues and delves into the controversial realms of animals, such as keeping wild animals in captivity. She makes some excellent points about captivity, release and the protesters of these issues. She feels that ultimately the animal should be the one to decide.

This is an amazing book that will bring joy and encouragement to any reader. It is packed with photos and relates wonderful anecdotes about human and animal interaction. It will delight and entertain even the most rigid skeptic, in spite of their personal beliefs about the communication. The author writes in a loose, flowing narrative style that is chatty, friendly and personal. She does a fine job of relating her experiences and those of others. She projects the feelings and emotions of the animals right into the reader and makes you walk away from the reading feeling more informed and in touch with the animal kingdom.

Animal Voices will have a profound effect on the way you see animals. Instead of rushing past them, you will find yourself stopping to look into their eyes and issue a greeting, even during your most hectic days. And if you look long enough and your greeting is truly heartfelt and sincere, you just get a warm response. Buy this book and spend a few hours taking this guided tour of the animal kingdom. You will be glad you did!

- Rambles
written by Alicia Karen Elkins
published 27 September 2003