This Japanese best-seller, due to be published in 17 languages and now available in English, is a set of interconnected stories that revolve around the mysterious, tucked away Kokoro Clinic for the Soul in Kyoto. Only those who are struggling and genuinely need help can find and enter the clinic to receive “treatment” in the form of cats prescribed as medication.
Patients often are puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives.
A disheartened businessman finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a young girl navigates the complexities of school cliques, a middle-aged man struggles to stay relevant at work and home, a hardened bag designer learns to be kinder to herself, and a geisha finds herself unable to move on from the memory of her lost cat.
As the clinic’s patients navigate their inner turmoil and seek resolution, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery and newfound hope. Throughout the pages of this quirky, charming, uplifting novel that provides insight into Japanese culture, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed. Yes, a cat a day keeps the doctor away…
“A heartwarming testimony to the power of the human-animal connection, best read with your own pet (stuffed works too, in a pinch) snuggled up by your side,” says People.
It’s time for ice skating and light displays, fair food concessions and a fire pit.
Tickets, which include skate rentals and unlimited rink time, are $14 on weekdays and $17 on weekends and holidays. Season passes cost $140 per person, but avid skaters should get them early. “We sell out of season passes every year,” Boerner says.
A tent with seating for 24 guests also will be available to rent for private parties in two-hour time slots. Hosts must provide their own food and beverages, and ice skating tickets are not included in the tent rental.
Picture this: it’s Christmas Eve. Snow is hopefully (but not likely) falling softly outside, lights are twinkling on the tree, cinnamon and chocolate waft through the air and suddenly, harking from the HI-FI speakers, you hear a familiar gravelly voice that shakes the tinsel, rattles the ornaments and rolls a parade of jingle-janglin’ good times into the mix.
From New York Times bestselling author Charles King comes the moving, true story behind one of the best-known pieces of music ever written: Handel’s Messiah.
It’s time for twinkling lights, joyous music and winter wonderlands in Columbia County:
Grovetown
The twilight parade begins at 6 p.m. at Harlem City Park and follows West Milledgeville Road and North Louisville Street to West Forrest Street, where the tree lighting ceremony starts about 6:45 p.m., or whenever the parade ends, on the library lawn. 
Christmas music and the holiday season go together like Santa and his reindeer, and the Augusta Symphony will present two holiday performances this month. 
New York Times bestselling author Tieghan Gerard has been busier than ever. In her fourth cookbook, Half Baked Harvest Quick & Cozy, she returns with a collection of more than 120 soul-warming recipes that use simple ingredients and are easy to get on the table — dishes short on time yet big on flavor.
Love, hope, provision, benevolence and the strength of community have been on the hearts of many as we navigate a new normal and the undoing of our landscapes and livelihoods after Hurricane Helene. Humanity, at its purest and most vulnerable state, was tested and strengthened overnight with a continuous outpouring of unconditional love.