My journey to write a Grief Support Guidebook -
I was once asked…
“What is the hardest thing about being a mother?”
I told her not being one…
Sandy’s grief song below:
I have lived every parent’s worst fear twice, and learned to live with joy again.
My first child died suddenly in a car accident, and my fourth child died eight years later from cancer.
I was born in the desert of Arizona, but grew up in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in a small town, graduated High School early and raced off to Seattle to see the big city. I didn’t last long in Seattle between the rain and differences in cultures. I returned home to the country to start my family.
Becoming an Author was not planned; it just came about as I went down my life path. I thought I was going to work in the local bank, have a couple of kids, and enjoy raising my family.
~It was a simple dream that never quite became my reality~
Love & Courage was born from my pain, but written in love. I am sharing a part of myself with everyone who reads this book. I hope this will bring about a better understanding of the pain and emotions that a family endures in the death of a child or loved one. My family and friends were all a huge part of my healing from Terry’s death, and with their love I was able to climb out of the darkness of depression, only to fall right back in when Brandon died.
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Terry |
Brandon |
In Brandon’s journey through cancer, and in his death, I was given the gift of love. Some people came into my life, who shared their love, and brought me a little bit of sunshine when I desperately needed it. It is to them that I dedicate this book, especially the Spokane Chapter of the Candlelighters, and Make-A-Wish Foundation of Washington State. I share my love with them as they share their love with others.
The first printing of this book was 20 years ago, in 1989. It was written by hand, and then typed with a typewriter, long before laptops and PC’s. The manuscript was stored on the first type of “flimsy” that current computers cannot read. So I had to retype the entire manuscript into an electronic format, which was a huge emotional project. I asked a friend to type the parts that I was not editing or adding, to help shorten my time spent in the painful world I write about. I have kept the pages the same only making some parts of Brandon’s story flow better, and kept most of the hand drawn artwork the same. I have been asked if I would write the same book today, and I know I would not. I would try to soften the book; to ease the pain the reader may feel themselves in reading the book. What I did do, was to add some of the letters I received from readers and poems for solace.
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| First Printing in 1989 | Revised Edition printed 2010 |
With this new edition of Love and Courage now titled ~Becoming Bigger Than Our Pain ~ I send hope, compassion, and gentle guidance to others and pay the love forward.
The Cover Designs
On the first edition I hired a high school art student to draw God’s hands holding my two sons, showing them playing together. The cover was parchment paper, which actually held up fairly well over the years.
In 2010 I designed this cover with my heart. It is a combination of a picture of a Hawaiian sunset from a dear sweet friend’s deck, and a picture of a family who is no one I know, but then again everyone I know. If you look closely you will see they are walking out of the fog of pain back onto the pavement of life. The way this came about was truly divine inspiration, as much of this book is, I am simply a channel for the energy.
-Sandy
My jouney continues with organizing an amazing event for 2012!
Click Flyer above to go to Retreat Website
©SandyBrosam.com 2011
