I am a mother and grandmother, who has gone through deep grief over the death of my son, at the age of 10, due to a bicycle fall, and my grandson, age 4 months, to SIDS.  I wrote about my desire to pound on the gates of Heaven to be let in . . . to be with them . . . . to see my beloved son and grandson again . . . I felt as though I was laying in a heap at the gates, sobbing and begging to no avail.  There is no grief like the grief a parent goes through when they lose a child, a grief that feels as though we have been hit by a fast moving train, leaving our life shattered . . . a grief that seems to settle deep in the heart . . . that holds us captive for years.  There were so many unusual and beautiful things that happened prior to, during, and after the deaths of my son and grandson, that I felt compelled to share them with others.  I also share how I walked through my journeys in the valley of the shadow of death, not well, but stumbling and crawling my way through, to finally come out a woman of strength, who can now relate with and help others who are grieving.  All types of grief bring us together, in order to share with one another, and help each other climb out of the quicksand of despair.  And that is my hope: that something I have shared in my book will help others who are grieving, those with whom I am unable to meet in person. I have been involved in a "grieving" ministry through my church.  It has been an honor to be able to listen to and pray with those dealing with grief.  The Bible states that we are "to help others with the same help that we have been given" . . . so, while I may be only a few steps higher up my own "mountain" of pain . . . I still have the ability to reach back and pull someone else up when they cannot take another step . . . this is what a grieving ministry is all about.  There have been times that I have left a meeting in total awe of how God uses me and others . . . we are not so far apart that we cannot hold out our hands to each other, cry together and then pray for healing of the deep wounds of our hearts.  Holding on to one another on the journey through the valley of the shadow of death is the surest way of coming out healed and "Stronger in the Broken Places."