This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
For Jody Sims, art is a healer. Whether she’s painting a portrait, a landscape or an abstract expression, Jody’s distinctive personal style and use of text combine to create a transformative experience.
Jody’s art has been exhibited in many local and regional shows on the west coast, east Tennessee, and Virginia.
Among her many artistic achievements, Jody is the author of the book “Soul Provider: Conversations With My Cat,” which showcases 20 paintings of her cat’s face, along with journal entries of her experience through cancer. The book won a Nautilus Book Award in 2014. Her most recent book, “Sanctuary: the Will to Live, the Courage to Love,” showcases paintings of farm animals and her awakening to the oneness of all sentient beings.
Jody grew up in a small farming community in western Illinois, where she was greatly influenced by the graphic art on cereal boxes and other products and signs in her family‘s grocery store, the Sims Royal Blue. She studied fine art at Illinois
State University in the 1970s, and then embarked on an extraordinary life as a graphic designer, illustrator, muralist, film producer, event planner, newspaper publisher, and community leader over a span of nearly 38 years in San Diego, CA.
She currently lives in Knoxville, TN with her wife Susanne and their two cats.
Reviewed by Patricia Bell for Readers' Favorite
Sanctuary is a motivational, nonfiction picture book by Jody Sims. Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, and then her spouse suffering from a traumatic brain injury, the two made the decision to move to Tennessee. Feeling out of place and sad, Jody fell into a depression. That is until she met Dudley. That’s when her entire life changed. She herself became a vegan. As an artist, Jody was asked to paint pictures for a local vegan cafe and felt it in her heart to paint pictures of the animals that had been taken in by the local animal rescue. With each picture she painted is a caption of how she perceived each animal would have explained their lives if they could speak.
Jody Sims is a talented artist. Her story is enjoyable and her paintings are beautiful. The book, although at first seeming to be something for a child, is anything but. It is indeed a picture book, but it is so much more than that. It’s a reflection of a remarkable journey, not only for Jody and her spouse, but for the animals who have each been rescued and loved by the vegan animal rescue company. Through these rescued animals, Jody was inspired to live and love again. Through this quaint little story, the author expresses the importance for animals to be able to live long and happy lives, unharmed, just as any of us deserve. Thank you, Jody, for your book, Sanctuary, and for motivating me to have compassion for not only people who are hurting, but animals as well. Super sweet story.
