Category: Books

Excerpt:

There is an unwritten rule that in the first chapter of any book on grief, the author must explain what grief is—as if the readers of the book don’t know. Grief affects everyone at some point. We reach out for guides like this, not for definition, but for reassurance, companionship, answers. We may already be going through life’s hardest tests. Our grief affects our every waking moment—and every sleeping moment—and ruthlessly changes us from the inside out.

We absolutely know what grief is.

Out of nowhere, when I was only thirty-one years old, I lost my husband, Mike, to a sudden tragedy. Mike was thirty-nine—a young man still—and our children were only four and six. That man was and is my soulmate. To this day, I am gratified for having known and loved him. And losing him was a blow that almost leveled me. Within a matter of hours, I went from being a happy wife to being a widow. I was in a state of shock—nothing had prepared me to lose someone so close to me.

At that time, I had dealt with loss before, but none had so mercilessly turned my life upside down. I was shocked to the core, unable to process the truth until days—maybe weeks—later.

Then I found myself coping with not only my grief but our children’s as well. I was trying to run a business at the time and had multiple responsibilities and roles. Some days I felt like hiding in bed, but I simply could not—too many others relied on me. The road from that time to now was a long and complex one, full of discoveries—some painful, some remarkable—that I want to share with you. I write this book for anyone who has suffered a loss. Your grief experience is yours alone, but you need not be alone in living with it.

Excerpt:
     Andrea walked to the coffee table and picked up the letter. She held it up and jabbed at it with her right index finger. “Eleven regional theatre companies have performed Rememberings this year, and I get a royalty check for $750. How could that be right? They’re screwing me and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”
     “Call Roger and see what he has to say.”
     Andrea laughed. “Roger? He texted me yesterday. Not a word about money. He texts me once a year and never once has mentioned royalties…let us not forget that Roger is my last remaining tie to Brian. I met Roger through Brian. Fifty agents wanted to sign me, and Brian insisted I go with Roger and WMA. He’s a pleasant enough guy, unlike Brian, but he’s never done a damn thing for me. Is it Brian’s fault for recommending him, or my fault for listening to him?”
     Thoughts of Brian hit Andrea like a face against a windshield. She hadn’t thought about him consciously in a long time, yet he was never far from her thoughts. Some guys are like that; they just get into your blood. Often it is the horrible ones that stay there. As the hot water from the shower touched her skin, it elicited an almost imperceptible sigh. She and Brian had spent many a shower together. She remembered how he loved to soap her breasts, and make her nipples hard…until they begged for his lips. She tossed her wet hair out of her eyes and slapped the wall, chastising herself for even thinking about him. He was just one of many evil spirits she had encountered in her life, and he was her past. Perhaps Ivoryton would point the way to her future. She shook her head as she dried her hair with a towel. She had no idea that she was not quite done with Brian yet.