My book, an account of my last year with my terminally ill and eternally wonderful mother, essentially wrote itself in the weeks of intense grief following her death in September 2009. Chapters poured out of me at all hours of the day and night, flowing directly from a broken heart to a blank page. I finished the manuscript in less than two months – in time to give it to my father for Christmas, his first without his wife and sweetheart of 52 years. It is a story I never wanted or expected to tell, but now that it’s written, I am happy to keep my mother’s legacy of love and her joyful, generous spirit alive through its pages. I (as well as my father and siblings) have appreciated hearing from people who’ve read the book, been moved by it, and taken the time to let me know. I have heard from other motherless daughters, from women and men in the “sandwich generation” going through or anticipating the process of losing a parent and needing reassurance, from people who knew my mother, from people who wish they had, from bereavement counselors and hospice nurses who say my family’s experience and the telling of our story will help them in their work, from pastors and professors… My mother would be so pleased that, as an unintended consequence and unexpected benefit of my having written the book, our story – now that it has been published – is, among other nice things, connecting strangers through shared memories or experiences, rekindling old friendships, and even sparking new ones. The writing and sharing of my story helped me come to terms with the pain and permanence of my loss. It is my hope that those who read it will be helped as well, inspired by my mother’s example and by my family’s determination to enjoy life while anticipating death.  

2013 Indie Excellence Book Awards finalist
2012 Nautilus Silver Award
2012 Living Now Book Award gold medal
2012 Readers Favorite silver medal
2011 Reader Views Literary Award 1st-place in two categories
The Life Journeys Award for Best Memoir or Biography