A Boy and a Jaguar

A promise whispered into the ear of a jaguar from the lips of just a small stuttering boy is the beginning of a path of success and what’s more important, kept promises. A Boy and a Jaguar is the real-life story about Alan Rabinowitz, a successful and influential biologist. As a young boy, teachers thought Alan was broken because he could not speak to anyone without great difficulty and stutter. However, he found that when he was with animals, especially his own pets, he did not stutter at all. He promised that when he found his voice he would speak for the animals, help them, and protect them. With determination and courage, Alan made it through school and in college Alan learned how to speak without stuttering, but he still felt broken. It was when he entered the jungles and forests and was among nature and animals that he began to heal and eventually fulfill his promise he made years before. Children with challenges, particularly one of speech, struggle to find their voice, their place in the world. As author and advocate for stutterers and a spokesperson for the Stuttering Foundation of America, Alan Rabinowitz, discovered for himself, that stuttering is not a setback, but rather an opportunity to discover your own passion and succeed and be happy. With deep and poignant prose, Alan Rabinowitz relays his experience in overcoming his challenge to find his voice and fulfill his promise to be the voice for animals, saving them and protecting them. No matter the age or personal challenge, readers will be moved to overcome their own challenges, to fulfill promises, and strive to make a difference in the world.