{"product_id":"the-back-canal-cats-deane-pope-9798249613532","title":"The Back Canal Cats: Seven Lives on a Louisiana Bayou","description":"\u003cb\u003eA story about seven cats, one loyal dog, and the quiet revolution of choosing what to witness.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSeven cats live on a Louisiana street where the pavement ends and the wild bayou begins. Each carries their own way of moving through the world-their own relationship to fear, grief, belonging, and the mystery of being alive. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBoucherie, the pampered white cat, has everything she needs but longs for something more.\u003cbr\u003eCayenne, born without a tail, watches over them all with the fierce tenderness of someone who knows danger lives at the edges.\u003cbr\u003eCatfish sits at his window every afternoon at 4 p.m., waiting for a father who will never come home.\u003cbr\u003eHushpuppy, with his ridiculous ears and gentle heart, hears what others miss.\u003cbr\u003eHalf-n-Half is learning that leaving doesn't mean betrayal-it means breathing room.\u003cbr\u003ePraline has watched the street change for years and still chooses to love it.\u003cbr\u003eAnd Boo-Dan, the wild black cat with the hooked tail, teaches them all that the bayou is not a place to conquer-it's a body to belong to. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTogether, they gather at an abandoned wharf under the moon, turning their backs on the petroleum tanks and industrial ugliness behind them. They face the water. They face each other. They choose what to witness. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Hackberry, the loyal German Shepherd who has been their bumbling, devoted guardian, begins to slow, the cats learn the hardest truth: love does not end when the body does. Presence continues. Grief and gratitude can live in the same heart. Nothing essential is ever lost-it only changes where it stands. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis is a book about cats. But it's really about: \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrief that doesn't need fixing, only witnessing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe courage to keep showing up when the world feels broken\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmall acts of love when you can't solve everything\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMemory without bitterness\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelonging without perfection\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePresence as a practice\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003eFor readers ages 8 to 108 who have ever loved something that changed. For anyone who has sat at a window, waiting. For anyone learning that healing doesn't mean going back-it means staying present.\u003cbr\u003eA multigenerational story in the tradition of \u003ci\u003eCharlotte's Web\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Velveteen Rabbit\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWatership Down\u003c\/i\u003e-a book children will love and adults will read twice, quietly, and carry with them long after. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Deane Pope\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798249613532\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/23\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 204\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.53lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.47d","brand":"Deane Pope","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49172265697535,"sku":"9798249613532","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-back-canal-cats-deane-pope-9798249613532","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}