Episode 12: Compassionate Caregiving... and Therapy Dogs Too! - with Author Carmen Leal

When tragedy strikes our lives, whether it's loss of life, financial hardship, or divorce, we are left with two options. We can either perpetually wallow in grief and self pity, or allow God to use that event to achieve victory over the enemy. However, in times of grief we often need someone else to offer us help. A compassionate caregiver. Our guest on today's show is Author Carmen Leal. Carmen shares her own stories of tragedy in her life, the current problems of caregiving in the church, and steps we can take to create compassionate caregivers. She breaks down steps to not only becoming a compassionate caregiver ourselves, but how to guide people around us to help when we are struggling with grief. Carmen also shares her experience with getting a rescue dog. Despite being very hesitant at first to adopt, she went on to bring Coconut into her life. She explains how this transformed her life for the better and led her to write I Chose You, Imperfectly Perfect Rescue Dogs and Their Humans. Who is Carmen Leal? Carmen Leal is a storyteller and the author of multiple books, articles, devotionals, and human-interest stories. Carmen relocated from Hawaii to Oshkosh, yes, there is a story behind the move, and has become an awesome dog mom. Carmen and her husband have become reluctant gardeners and know a crazy amount about Wisconsin weeds. She is the mother of two sons, two incredible grandsons, and Coconut, the best imperfectly perfect rescue dog in the world. Resources: Our listeners can learn more about Carmen's books, hear testimonials and donate to her ministry at www.wagawaypublishing.com You can also get in touch with Carmen at the email [email protected] Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Music for the Soul Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like it in the future.