 The sounds of cats purring can be soothing and part of a healing process. For this week's Community Spotlight, we show you how 1,000 purring cats can be helpful. Everyone deals with loss differently, and for Susan Sparky-Kedzie, she used those difficult times as the inspiration for her book, A Thousand Purring Cats, after having conversations with her mother that sparked an idea. I was feeling silly, and I said, well, Mom, you know, I think you just need 1,000 purring cats to come to your door, and she's laughed and didn't understand where that was coming from, so I explained, and she said, I think there's a book there. Sparky hosted a soft book launch at the Headwater School of Music and the Arts in Bemidji, where her family and newfound fans gathered for her accomplishment. Happy Captain to you. The book sounded interesting. I like to support the arts and the community. It's a beautiful day, so here we are. I didn't know Susan prior to this, but she's a great lady. It was a four-year process for Sparky's vision to come to life, and each illustration in the book tells its own story. Last year, she received a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council to help complete the second half of the illustrations. It's about emotional healing, and so that's kind of a heavy topic. So I wanted to make it lively and playful, and so the text is lively and playful, and so I wanted images to sort of amplify that. When Sparky Ellingson considers herself a cat lady, she came out to support Sparky and left with a copy of the book. I looked through it last night. I read part of it, and I just thought, I need to have this and take it home and read to my cats. When she is in writing, Sparky spends her time as an art teacher. She hopes her book will connect with children and teach them about the healing process. I liked how it had lots of pictures, and very well drawn. I like how it's all the same. That way someone loves you. Sparky plans to have a hard launch for her book in November. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.