Sara Turetta's autobiography presented in six romanian cities

“The publication of my autobiography, I cani, la mia vita (‘Dogs are My Life’) in Romanian, which has been revised and expanded from the first two Italian editions and has been given a new title: “Urme de Bucurie – Footprints of Joy”, has given me the opportunity of visiting different parts of the country and of meeting many extraordinary people. In collaboration with my publishing house Humanitas, I have had the chance to present the book in a number of bookstores in many major Romanian cities and to personally encounter a lot of activists as well as students, university professors and individual readers, all intrigued by my story and all united by one common desire: that of seeing their hope for Romania’s animals being properly nourished becoming a reality in the future.
The one recurring question I was asked by many of the journalists who interviewed me was: “Has anything changed during these past twenty years?”. My answer was ‘Yes, albeit with the following distinctions’: things have improved far more in the cities than in rural areas, and in Transylvania far more than in Dobrogea or Moldova… But yes, they are changing, despite policies that are disastrously lackluster and above all thanks to the dedication of so many local associations who are also working at the forefront with ongoing sterilization campaigns that are free of charge, identical to those conducted by Save the Dogs. 

It was extremely exciting to present the book at the Italian Cultural Institute in Bucharest and also to hear the flattering words spoken by Director Cristian Mungiu, who was one of the first people to read the Romanian version; it was wonderful to be able to embrace people I had only previously known from a distance and to witness the efforts that small and courageous local associations have been making for years in difficult regions or in slums, such as the one in Pata Rat, near Cluj. It was also hugely beneficial to finally reach a wider audience, thanks to some interviews I did with TV and radio channels that are listened to by millions of people. 

I’ve no idea how many copies my book will sell, but one thing is certain: by writing “Footprints of Joy” I will have helped to preserve the memory of a page of recent history that was in danger of going down in the annals but disappearing forever off the radar of social media, namely that of the brutal killings of strays in the early 2000s that even today we still unfortunately see taking place in so many Romanian cities, including our own Cernavoda. Thanks to a prestigious publishing house like Humanitas, my book will be read by intellectuals, journalists and people whose culture is very different from our own, and I feel certain that many of them will choose to make a contribution to our cause as a consequence.

“Footprints of Joy” is just taking its very first steps, but I hope and believe it will be a journey of hope that will blossom and flourish, and who knows what else may emerge as a result of it.”