一隻黑色腳掌滑過門縫，她跳上床鋪呼嚕作響，耐著性子等我的淚水退潮，等我從谷底浮出來。
所有人都想擁抱這隻貓
售出12種語言版權．繁體中文版獨家序
剛過完生日的九歲男孩山姆，抱著受傷的野鴿朝獸醫診所飛奔，卻被來車撞個正著，當場喪命。目睹悲劇的六歲弟弟瞠目結舌，以為哥哥在演電影。
一個多月後，鄰人輕叩這個哀傷之家的大門，帶來毛茸茸的黑色小生物。
「是山姆的小貓！」
男孩來不及收下的生日禮物，讓弟弟臉上浮現久違的笑容。
貓咪選擇自己的主人，出現在自己被需要的所在。
都說小貓調皮，但這隻和埃及豔后同名的小貓克麗奧的「破壞行為」似乎別有目的；她自在歡快地把貓咪的享樂天性填滿屋裡每個角落，讓這家人在好氣好笑的同時，逐漸從悲傷痛楚的情緒移開。而某些無言的憂傷時刻，克麗奧從不吝以毛茸茸的摟抱和潮濕的親吻，提供最溫柔的撫慰。
時間或許無法療癒一切，卻帶來寬廣的視野。痛楚或許不會完全消失，卻能被織成獨特的人生圖案。
克麗奧守護這個家長達二十三年半，成為女主人經歷喪子、失婚、單親媽媽、職場考驗的精神支柱，見證這個家增添男主人和新生兒，並身兼小主人的保母、護士和心靈導師——以及最重要的，這個家備受尊寵的「女王」。克麗奧以深情壓倒所有人，讓他們自然而然回報以愛。即使愛終歸帶來失落，但小貓的愛讓他們願意再度把心敞開，重新擁抱生命。

Book Description
"We're just going to." Helen Brown had no intention of adopting a pet when she brought her sons, Sam and Rob, to visit a friend's new kittens. But the runt of the litter was irresistible, with her overlarge ears and dainty chin.
When Cleo was delivered weeks later, she had no way of knowing that her new family had just been hit by a tragedy. Helen was sure she couldn't keep her-until she saw something she thought had vanished from the earth forever: her son's smile The reckless, rambunctious kitten stayed.
Through happiness and heartbreak, changes and new beginnings, Cleo turned out to be the unlikely glue the affectionately held Helen's family together. Rich in wisdom, wit, heart, and healing, here is the story of a cat with an extraordinary gift for knowing just where she was needed the most.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Grace can come in deceptively small packages. For Brown, it arrived in the form of a runt-of-the-litter kitten whom her two young sons, Sam and Rob, adored on sight. Promised as an upcoming present for Sam’s tenth birthday, it was a gift the boy never received. While the kitten was being weaned from its mother, Sam was taken from his. Just weeks after his birthday, Sam was killed in an auto accident, and Brown’s world changed forever. Yet when the kitten was delivered to her new home right on schedule, Brown’s heart first broke with the unfairness of it all, then gradually began to mend as little Cleo did what all kittens do: mounted a charm offensive like no other. Over the next 23 years, as Brown’s marriage ended and career blossomed, the spunky Cleo remained her constant source of comfort and inspiration. Heartfelt and open, Brown’s buoyant tale of loss and recovery celebrates the resilient patience and restorative powers of animal compassion. --Carol Haggas
Review
" A remarkable memoir... I realized that Helen Brown didn't break my heart at all - she opened it." --Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
"An absolute must." --Cat World
"The next Marley & Me. Even non cat-lovers will be moved." --Good Housekeeping