News From Terre Haute, Indiana

December 13, 2010

Mother chronicles ‘miracles’

Sullivan County woman finds inspiration to write book about life after death and timeless family relationships

Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — A book about miracles was itself a miracle in the making for a Wabash Valley author.

“It’s like I didn’t even write it. It just came together,” Terry Lee Rambo said of her new book, “Troy’s Miracles,” which is out in print by Continental Shelf Publishing this week.

But it took a tragedy to inspire the work, as the book was born from the death of her son, Troy.

Then 28 years old, Troy was killed in an automobile accident in 2002. Less than two weeks after the accident, Rambo began experiencing unexplainable occurrences, ranging from flowers on her desk that no one placed to visions of small children. “And the things that have happened, it’s just been incredible, one thing after another,” she said. “And there’s no doubt, he’s still right here with me.”

With illustrations and photos throughout, she described the book as a testament to life after death and the timeless relationships between loved ones.

Monica Shipley, founder and president of Mothers With Broken Hearts, wrote a dedication for the book, including some of her own experiences.

“I lost a son to suicide. Never having believed in miracles, God gave us a huge one that set me on a course that changed my life forever. I read 35 books seeking understanding and help. Nothing worked, so I started a program for mothers who lost children,” she writes on the jacket cover, adding that “Troy’s Miracles” is “… the best book I have ever read because I know it is true , bringing hope and closure to those who are still grieving.”

The road to authorship wasn’t a clear path for Rambo, a single mother living in Sullivan. But the writing work was launched in May of this year and yielded a finished, published work coming out in bookstores this week. “Troy’s Miracles” is 148 pages long and includes 69 family pictures.

Rambo credited the production speed to her publisher, Continental Shelf Publishing, operated by Murray Silver, the author of “Daddy King and Me,” about Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the biography of rockabilly legend Jerry Lee Lewis that spawned a Hollywood film starring Dennis Quaid.

Rambo said patrons who purchase the book from her website, www.troysmiracles.com, can put the initials “MS” for Monica Shipley on the order. Those orders will generate a $3 donation to Mothers With Broken Hearts.

The author herself will host a book-signing at Barnes and Noble in Evansville from 1 to 3 p.m. Central time on Dec. 30, as well as at BookNation in Terre Haute on Jan. 7. “I’m hitting everybody,” she laughed, noting that copies are available for purchase online at Amazon.com and other sites.

Through it all, from tragedy to publication, Rambo said she’s learned to “wait on God,” and hopes to pass that message on to others.



Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce.tribstar.com.