Healing tales

Two years after his retirement, Dr. Jim Roloff published his first book, "Mending God's Creatures."

Roloff, an alum of Eastern Washington University and Washington State University, had worked as a veterinarian for over 35 years. He operated the Medical Lake Veterinary Clinic from 1975-2011, selling the practice that final year.

During his years as a veterinarian, people would ask Roloff about the things he saw throughout his career. According to Roloff, several people recommended he write a book about his experiences.

In December 2011, almost three months after he had sold his practice, Dr. Roloff felt the urge to write the book. Although he had no experience in undertaking such a task, he began recalling some of his past cases and began writing them down.

"I would think of the case and dial it up and replay it and I could see the people, the day, what they were wearing," Roloff said. "I could hear them talking and I would just relive it. I would recall the case in vivid detail and write it down."

"Mending God's Creatures" is an anthology filled with 100 short stories about some of the cases Roloff experienced while he operated the Medical Lake Veterinary Clinic. The book also features stories from his days at veterinary school and his days working at the veterinary clinic at Enumclaw, Wash., and at Medical Lake. According to Roloff "Mending God's Creatures" came from a sign at the Medical Lake office.

"My goal for each short story was to have the case, the animal-human bond and something for people to relate to," Roloff said.

The former veterinarian found Tate Publishing and made contact with acquisitions specialist Eric Sizemore, who told him to send two short stories. Sizemore would later call Roloff to inform that Tate Publishing would release his book.

After signing a contract, the manuscript went through the editing and layout process. Once he had given his final approval, He received seven boxes of books for local signings and distributions. Some of the books have already sold in Cheney and Medical Lake.

"It was special to finally hold it in my hands," said Roloff.

Roloff's wife Sandy said past clients are excited about the book's release. Roloff said the best thing is to see the happiness people receive from reading it. One former client, whose dog he wrote a story about, visited the doctor to get his copy of the book signed. The man mentioned how it helped him remember the good days with his dog.

"There are other people who know I've written about their animals and their situation in the book," Roloff said. "They're so happy to see the story about their animal in print. It's neat."

"Mending God's Creatures" is currently on sale at Tate Publishing.com. It is also on sale at the EWU bookstores. Roloff intends to have a local signing at Denny's Harvest Foods in January 2014. The book releases nationally March 2014.

Al Stover can be reached at al@cheneyfreepress.com.