"Another Insane Devotion" is a compelling story about life, love and the bond between animals and humans. — Getty Images

What can we learn about ourselves from the way we love our pets?

That's the question author Peter Trachtenberg sought to answer when his beloved cat, Biscuit, went missing. His quest to find her led him on a 700 mile journey and back through his own history, as he searched for his pet and pondered his fractured relationship with his wife.

The search also resulted in his new book Another Insane Devotion: On the Love of Cats and Persons, which examines the way we love our animals — and each other.

"We were both people who in many ways are very moderate and modulated in our feelings," Trachtenberg says of himself and his wife. "Our animals represented an occasion to feel and express feelings immoderately, insanely."

Listen to an interview with the author above.