More Than 9 Lives: A Street Cat Named Bob Movie Review

Addiction doesn’t just come in the form of drugs and alcohol, it is prominent in food, gambling,  social media, religion, etc... We can be addicted to just about anything. How far that goes depends on many factors that each of us are ultimately held responsible for. 

A single thought can be harmless. However, it often begins this way. You may have a genetic predisposition or you may not, but when a triggering event, or multiple ones happen over time, a pseudo-harmless thought can spiral into chaos. Nothing begins to matter anymore. It's just you and the addiction. 

The intense craving and the inability to think about anything else but feeding our addiction takes over our already fragile mind. We give into the euphoria, even if it’s for a split second to feel the illusion of happiness, and then we are warped back into reality, stricken with grief, depression, shame, and all the other unpleasant feelings that lead us desperately again into our next high. The cycle continues until we can let go or we sadly die trying. In our minds, we feel that if we are not actively pursuing our addiction, we are forever lost.

I was inspired to write about our viewing of A Street Cat Named Bob, a best-selling international book made into film. It is based on the true story of James Bowen, a heroin addict who fatefully meets a four-legged ginger cat, who affectionately  becomes known as his life-saving furry pal, Bob.   Bring on the tissues!

Luke Treadaway plays the role of James, a heroin addict who is facing the same fate as his friend Baz, who has overdosed for the last time. Trying to withstand the pressures of getting one more hit in, repairing his relationship with his father and somehow rebuilding his life, one night, James finds a four-legged cat rustling around in the hallway and that’s really where the story begins to take shape. 

There is such a beautiful bond that forms and although not everyone’s journey is like James, it gives a sense of hope. Another heartfelt part of the movie is James’ unlikely human friendship and brief love interest with Betty (played by Ruta Gedmintas), James’s quirky and lovable neighbour. She is not all rainbows and sunshine though. Underneath, she is still holding onto grief from her brother’s death, and so that adds a heightened element to the story on what level of support we can honestly take on, even when witnessing such suffering. 

Healing can begin once we face our deepest wounds, but it’s a long and messy road to even feeling half alive again. For some, it takes hitting rock bottom, and for others, it can be a life of balancing the good days and any relapses that happen. We are rooting for James all the way through this film, to at least be given the chance to live out loud with confidence again, as he is working so damn hard through every obstacle tossed his way - totally relatable on some level? Heck ya.

The movie shows many barriers that addicts will continue to face, as well as the toxic “not in my backyard” phenomena that exists especially with recovery involving methadone hubs and harm reduction clinics in residential areas. There are plenty of moments as well where the human condition is explored through the loving relationship that James has with Bob, his ginger cat that won’t leave his side and makes him feel seen, where alone busking on the streets of London, others would make James feel invisible.

Our connections with humans can be limited but there is something extra special about the love shared that is also evidence-based between humans and animals.

The music is also a high point in the movie, as we see this guitar strumming bloke, riding his bike with a cat on his shoulder bringing smiles and hope to all that pass by. Satellite Moments is truly special, along with Second Time Around and Don't Give Up. 

If you can take anything from this film, it is the fact that sometimes helping to save someone else’s life, ends up saving ours too.  

Photo Credit: Author James Bowen with Bob

*Sadly, Bob passed away in 2020 but will never be forgotten

💜A Street Cat Named Bob: http://streetcatbob.com/  Street Cat Named Bob Book Series

💜Addiction/Mental Health Support Links

https://www.ontario.ca/page/mental-health-services

https://www.ccsa.ca/

https://ontario.cmha.ca/

https://bana.ca/

https://www.connexontario.ca/en-ca/

https://atforum.com/related-websites/ - International

BREWtiful Moments: Coffee Monster Q&A with Author, Nate Friedman

Author, Nate Friedman

A world-traveller, author and comedian, Nate Friedman is a former Windsorite, still living his best life through the unpredictable pandemic. His latest children's book, Coffee Monster is a story that everyone will relate to, both the young and the wise. Filled with humour, stunning imagery, touching moments, and valuable life lessons. 

Nate's book Coffee Monster will also be showcased October 1, 2021 on The Giggle Mat , so you’ll want to tune in for that.

Enjoy my Q&A with author, Nate Friedman below!  

1. So you’re from Windsor, Ontario yet now residing in Toronto, Ontario. Funny, this is the opposite of me! I was born in Toronto and now living here in Windsor. Tell me about that wild journey.

The journey to the big city! Haha, sounds quite the adventure when it’s put onto the page like that. Just a drive in the car for four hours with some bathroom breaks lol

It all started when I did some travelling after graduating from the University of Windsor! I lived in Australia for six months and got a chance to visit New Zealand. When I got back, I ended up moving for work, first to Owen Sound, ON for a little while, then Brantford, ON, both beautiful cities, learning some cool things along the way. 

Then I decided to pursue writing full-time which meant moving in with family in Victoria, BC and getting to work on some exciting projects and working on my first book tour in Ontario with Chapters. All while looking at some mountains.

Continuing to work on writing and pursuing Comedy, I finally moved to Toronto to work with some amazing teachers and returning to school at Humber College for Comedy Writing and Performance. Toronto just seemed the place to be with so many great people and projects! 

I’m still enjoying life in Toronto more and more, even during the lock down.

💠

2. Although there is a fictitious coffee “monster” lurking, your book actually delves into a heavy topic surrounding addiction. How did that come about?

The coffee monster is very real. The idea for the book came from a personification of how most adults (then me after University!) approached coffee in everyday life.

 Some of the lines in the book probably come straight from my Mom, don’t worry she’s a big fan. In writing the book and creating the character, it became apparent that there was a lot more there than just a surface level need. This started to help the book take shape.

I think we tend to look at addiction through a classic lens and our minds go to the worst places but the reality is that addiction can be found in many things like food, too much screen-time, needing attention, in addition to more serious substances. I felt it was important to encourage conversations and look at all areas of life in terms of excess and try to understand. 

It’s also important to face all of these things with a sense of humour. Coffee Monster is a very fun character and we can go on this journey with him and see what we learn along the way.

💠

3. Tell me about your illustrator, Saba Bushnaq, and how she made your vision come to life on paper?

In creative work it is truly 1+1 = 3. Here is a fun fact, I already had the book written for quite a while before I met Saba to illustrate it. I had tried a few other artists and he didn’t quite jump off the page like he does now. There’s a good lesson in there about not forcing things and letting things come together creatively. 

I was finally referred to Saba through my sister and everything came together from there. She is absolutely amazing! Her artwork is so colourful and makes you feel great and tells a story unto itself. 

From there, it was a collaborative process where I tried to explain the pictures that were in my mind and she was incredibly flexible in getting it just right. Had it been just me, I don’t think the stick person version would have been as enjoyable. This book would be nothing without her. 

💠

4. The talent bug hit you early on in life and you’ve been really pursuing your dreams as an actor, comedian, and of course author. So do all these elements intertwine in your writing style, or do you see them as separate?

This all would have been so much easier if I had talent. lol. Growing up, I was definitely creative but extremely quiet and was scared of speaking in front of people. I would shake and hesitate to have people read my stuff.  It took me a long time, even after high school to get to a point where I could share my ideas openly and even think to pursue writing, acting and comedy. 

There was a quality I picked up from playing sports growing up where you could always work the hardest and slowly start to get better and work my way into being one of the best on the team. It took me quite a while to have the courage to pursue my dreams and stop looking at back-up plans or what was “safe”. I

I’m so happy and proud of where I am at this point in my life. I want to help as many people as I can pursue their dreams too and be an example. If you’re reading this and are unsure, this is your sign that it’s time to start doing that thing you want to do. You were put on earth for this reason and the world needs your unique voice.

All of these things fit together and help one another in a big way. Even the skills outside of these I learned like ‘sales’, help me immensely in my career. That’s the beauty of these creative pursuits, they’re only enhanced by your life experiences and all of the amazing people you meet along the way.

I will share a funny story. It was my first author event in Windsor, I had been invited to speak to hundreds of children and had so much fun. After the event all the authors had a luncheon and we were all sitting at a table and someone asked about writing down ideas. They all proceeded to pull out their ‘notes app’ and one guy who was a Newberry/Caldecott Award winner had these beautiful poetry verses, the next lady had some prose and said she liked to write down these beautiful lines that came to her, then I looked at my phone. All of my notes were jokes and things that I find funny. That’s me.

At my core is this sense of humour and seeing funny things about the world and I carry that through to my writing and acting along with on-stage  work, as an improviser stand-up comedian. 

You also learn to get less precious about your material and get better at editing and improving with feedback as it is not all “magic”. Telling a joke and not getting any laughs is a great place to start,  it doesn’t mean it’s you as a person, you just have more work to do in conveying how it’s funny. 

Same thing with writing books and sketches and screenplays, how can we keep boiling this down and make it the best? You get this romantic idea and stroke of genius and effortlessness when the reality is, it’s a lot of hard work (and this hard work isn’t necessarily best measured in time). 

I work separately at each pursuit but no doubt in some way they all help with one another! If you’re a young writer (or simply young at heart) why restrict yourself, ride the wave, see where things take you 

💠

5. You have written Coffee Monster and the Land of Coffee, as well as the most recent one that we’ll be featuring on the Giggle Mat; Coffee Monsters. So are any other beverages in the works for a new book?

There are plenty of ideas floating around as always! “The Land of Coffee” was released just before the Pandemic began so there is still a lot of work to get those fun characters out into the world. The launch was postponed and will need to be done properly when it is safe to do so. Although I must admit, the extra time to write and read has been great. I choose to focus on the positive. When the time is right, I’m sure there will be more fun characters for you to meet! Coffee Monster is anxious for a new adventure. Do we want to see him go to space maybe?

In closing, I would like to thank everyone taking the time to read this post and thank you so much to the Giggle Mat for this opportunity!  

I always love to connect with people who are interested in writing and I am always available for events and inquiries. Just contact me on my website listed below.

💠

For more information on Nate and Saba, check out the links! 

💜 Website: www.natetfriedman.com

💜  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natefriedmanauthor

💜IG / Twitter

💜YouTube (comedy mainly): 

More on Saba:

💜IG

💜Art link: https://www.instagram.com/saba.bushnaq.art/

💜YouTube (as well in Arabic): 

Addiction: The Couponer's Bubble

Do you remember the old saying of “there are no free lunches in this world?” It holds some truth, but in the consumer world, it’s becoming easier to obtain items for free or ridiculously low costs. It’s no surprise now that some people will go to any length to try and outsmart the system.

Part 2 of my couponing series will take you into the world of coupon addiction. It is a dark place that can rob you of your life, just like any other compulsive behaviour such as smoking, drinking, drugs, and more. The clinical definition of addiction by the DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) can be debated though and is often rejected by those who are suffering. Whether you meet one criteria or all of them, sometimes your conscience may be able to withstand the fraudulent behaviours because you truly believe that you’re saving money for yourself and your family. However, there is a very fine line between saving and scheming.

Every day, people scour the stores for the best deals and of course, those red-hot coupons. You’ll join up on sites that allow you to print out money-saving coupons on favourite products or even ones you’ve never tried before. Other times, you’ll be able to have certain websites mail you out coupons to your home address. Social media has also become another great avenue for obtaining coupons, discounts and freebies.  However, when does hunting for a bargain turn toxic?

About a week ago, I had a surprising letter from a woman who did not want to disclose her real name to me but was very adamant about sharing her story. So for the purpose of this blog, I will refer to her as “Natasha.”

This is a year for Natasha to mark on her calendar. She had the biggest birthday bash, as she celebrated her 37th recently with close friends and family. She was overjoyed with a simple dinner at one of her favourite restaurants in the city of Windsor, and for the fact that she had finally left her home for a calculated time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, after a number of years in isolation.

Natasha’s story began like many others. Being a stay-at-home mom of 3 had its rewards but Natasha often felt really bored with her life and began searching for new ways to break out of the mommy role. Her husband worked long hours and so any quality time would be sparse, except for the occasional weekends, when he would make it a habit to go out with his buddies and leave her alone with 3 attention-seeking children. Sometimes he’d come home, blitzed out of his mind, smelling like stale perfume and other times, he never came home at all. Frustrated, Natasha recalls one night where she put the children to bed and went to the living room and cried for what seemed like hours.

Trying to make sense of her situation, her eyes glazed over the computer screen that was in the corner of the room. Before she knew it, her tears had turned to laughter, as she entered the virtual world known as the Internet.  Being an amateur with computers, she successfully navigated her way and carefully typed in the search box of Google “bored mommies.” Thousands of search results came up and Natasha was overwhelmed, yet relieved that there were other people like her who were constantly stuck at home and unappreciated by their significant others. Clicking on each page, Natasha felt a sense of belonging and began to sign up to different forums.

Natasha recalls a renewed zest for life, an exhilaration that she hadn't felt in years. So every night, after the kids went to bed, Natasha would log onto the computer and seek out more groups to join. She would stay up practically all night long, chatting with others and eventually finding an extreme coupon group that would soon consume her life. Scrolling through a few sites that had products she liked, Natasha decided to sign up and see whether anything would actually arrive at her home. The excitement of receiving a confirmation e-mail was beginning to feel more fulfilling than sex.

Only a few months into joining and Natasha was hooked. Couponing was her escape from the mundane existence that she lived, day in and day out. Her doorbell would not stop ringing as delivery drivers would stop by and drop off, yet another parcel. She was amazed at how good she felt. She got tips and tricks on how to get more than one sent to her home and started to create multiple e-mail accounts. Eventually, she had 25 different accounts that she could log into.  Trips to the grocery store were unbelievable, as she would pay virtually nothing for her groceries. Any chance at saving money, she’d grab the whole wall of tear pads and stuff them into her purse so no one else could get the deals she was getting. She even started buying up items she wouldn’t even use, just because it was on sale at a good price. She did hand out some coupons to customers on occasion, but this was only to ease her mind of what she was doing. Natasha felt no shame in doing this, but looking back, she knew this was worse than stealing.

Unfortunately, it only got worse. Natasha started to neglect household duties and there were many times that her husband had to come home from work because she forgot to pick up their kids from school or extra-curricular activities.  The distance in Natasha’s marriage worsened and she began getting calls from the school about absenteeism. Not fazed by any of it, Natasha continued to be on the computer even more. Sitting and waiting for the next freebie, ignoring her baby’s cries and visiting the grocery store almost daily to stock up on items that she knew she had plenty of.  Some evenings, she would go and do something called “dumpster diving” to find coupons and other papers that she couldn’t get her hands on. After a while, she would cautiously wait until a neighbour put out the red or blue boxes, take them home, and rummage through. Sometimes Natasha would forget to give them back. She started to collect them and realized she could make some money selling the used recycled boxes.

To give you an idea of her stockpile, it consisted of: 300 packages of toilet paper, 150 cases of canned goods, 76 shampoos, 45 boxes of  pasta, 200 deodorants, 200 loafs of bread, 400 bottles of various over-the-counter prescription medications, 200 boxes of Kleenex, 120 boxes of cereal, and much more.  The family could have lived extremely well for the next few years without having to buy very much, but the rush was too thrilling to stop and so someone had to slam on the brakes.

The most embarrassing and pivotal moment for Natasha was when she stepped into the grocery store and was immediately escorted to the manager’s office.  To her surprise, the store had been watching her for months now. Her devious rearrangements of items so others could not get them, the loads of products she would place into her cart and pay nothing for because she had many free product coupons for, the excessive amount of tear pads she’d collect without leaving any for other consumers…all the evidence was there and Natasha was finally caught.  Thankfully the store manager was sympathetic and did not press charges. However, she was banned from the store.

She drove home from the horrible incident and in a sudden rage, she destroyed her stockpile. As canned goods smashed to the ground and shampoo bottles dripped out onto the marble-tiled floor, Natasha unplugged her computer and threw the monitor against the wall.

Couponing was Natasha’s saviour, or so she thought. What she didn’t bargain for was the devastating aftermath.  Her husband left and took their 3 kids. Natasha told me that the moment her husband demanded full custody, she couldn’t even muster the strength to fight for her children. She knew that she was an unfit mother and needed help.

Up until very recently, Natasha lived a life of total isolation. The outside world did not exist. She refers to herself at times as the “Couponer in a Bubble,” which makes total sense. With the help of on-going therapy and some extremely supportive friends and family, Natasha is slowly rebuilding her life. The guilt still consumes her but she was naïve thinking that she could get away with everything.  What she thought was a fun hobby turned into a nightmare she will never forget.

Natasha has deactivated all of her accounts now. Shopping for her is still a huge source of anxiety and so she only shops with a trusted family member or friend. Although she has setbacks, Natasha is proud to say that she no longer is part of any coupon group.

My closing thoughts: Addiction of any sort can be debilitating and so admitting you have a problem is really the first step in getting better. It’s not an easy road but in the end it is worth every penny. Couponing can be very harmless and a wonderful way to save money. It’s also great to try out new products and help others who may be struggling. However, people go way too far.

So the next time you go shopping and see a stash of coupons just waiting for you to grab, take a moment and realize what you’re doing because you never know what price you actually pay, until it’s too late.