Dearest Michaela,
You have died and have left Philip, Mom, and me strangers in this new and very unfamiliar land of our family without you. We cling to one another for warmth, but we are not yet a family again. We are not the same any longer.
Have I told you about the new garden in our front yard? It's a place to remember you, with a weeping Chinese cherry tree, peonies, salvia, calla lilies, and wild lilies. Lately, it has attracted a beautiful red cardinal, who flies into the cherry tree. For some reason, I always think of the cardinal as you

This is a bittersweet collection of heart-felt letters from a grieving father to his daughter who has died. When a family brings college-aged Michaela home for spring break, they find themselves plunged into an abyss of suffering when she unexpectedly dies. Michaela's father, Theodore A. d'Afflisio, chronicles the steps the family takes to work their way out of the void and into the light.

Dearest Michaela offers hope and consolation to parents and families faced with the worst of all possible losses.

Dearest Michaela,
You have died and have left Philip, Mom, and me strangers in this new and very unfamiliar land of our family without you. We cling to one another for warmth, but we are not yet a family again. We are not the same any longer.
Have I told you about the new garden in our front yard? It's a place to remember you, with a weeping Chinese cherry tree, peonies, salvia, calla lilies, and wild lilies. Lately, it has attracted a beautiful red cardinal, who flies into the cherry tree. For some reason, I always think of the cardinal as you

This is a bittersweet collection of heart-felt letters from a grieving father to his daughter who has died. When a family brings college-aged Michaela home for spring break, they find themselves plunged into an abyss of suffering when she unexpectedly dies. Michaela's father, Theodore A. d'Afflisio, chronicles the steps the family takes to work their way out of the void and into the light.

Dearest Michaela offers hope and consolation to parents and families faced with the worst of all possible losses.

In the most basic meaning of the Incarnation, where there is ultimate illness, it is acts of loveisiting, holding, affirming, listening, making arrangementshich are the bread of life. They are the Bread of Life.

"In a sensitive account that draws readers into the persons and the situation, the author has made a warm, loving journal of her father's last illness and death. This moving chronicle of the process of dealing with death as a day-by-day reality will bring comfort to families experiencing similar times."?i>Interpreter Magazine

During an evening TV news broadcast this past winter, I watched a story about a man whose wife had just been killed. What inspirited me to write this book was this statement: "Everything I go through now, I'll have to go through without my wife" (paraphrased). I didn't even know the man personally, but I had the overwhelming desire to reach out an empathetic hand to him and reassure him he'd make it. The result was an elaborate "you can do it" letter. The major challenges and opprotunities are examined through 13 chapters: The sudden absence of Mom, the responsibilities of Dad, remembering Mom, long-term effects of discipline, strong communications skills, support from friends and family, time management, lasting work ethic, spiritual grounding in the home and community, putting sex in its place, the need for Dads to continue living, how the first eleven chapters equip you for tragedy, and hope of the future. While not a textbook or manual, the chapters are laid out with a common foundation, anecdotes, spirituality and poetry. Experiences that have caused tears of laughter and heartbreak, quotes from the best source available, the Bible, and poetry that expresses the thoughts of the current subject.

Eleven young people died at the scene, but the twelfth victim, Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr., lived almost forty-two hours before succumbing to his injuries. Seven months after his death, his parents left their secular life in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to College Station to work as volunteers in campus ministry at the very school where their son had died. What happened to cause this couple to make such a life-changing decision?

The Chance to Say Goodbye answers that question, while telling the tale of a young hero, who, on that fateful night, refused aid for himself until his friends had been helped. Author Janice Cross Kerlee offers help to parents who have lost children. She assists them in dealing with their grief and teaching their friends how to help in a time of need. Finally, The Chance to Say Goodbye testifies to the mighty works of God and His ever-present love.

Eleven young people died at the scene, but the twelfth victim, Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr., lived almost forty-two hours before succumbing to his injuries. Seven months after his death, his parents left their secular life in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to College Station to work as volunteers in campus ministry at the very school where their son had died. What happened to cause this couple to make such a life-changing decision?

The Chance to Say Goodbye answers that question, while telling the tale of a young hero, who, on that fateful night, refused aid for himself until his friends had been helped. Author Janice Cross Kerlee offers help to parents who have lost children. She assists them in dealing with their grief and teaching their friends how to help in a time of need. Finally, The Chance to Say Goodbye testifies to the mighty works of God and His ever-present love.

Clay, my second son, and I discussed writing a book for years. I’m sure his version would have been much different. I wanted him to write his own story — finding out he was gay, his feelings, and his experiences while traveling his life in California, his experiences with the new gay disease. He never did. He just lived it. His actions, his activities, and his contributions to the world are telling their own story of his life. As I was chronicling this walk, I realized Clay’s story is a story about Clay, as a person, me, as a person, and the people in our path.

This book is dedicated to Clay, who was a “mixed blessing,” and to the bodies strewn along the path of the epidemic called AIDS, hewn out of history. It is my hope and the hope of those who knew and loved Clay that our experience will make someone else’s walk less painful, less lonely.

There is no handbook for women who suddenly find themselves on the downward spiral to widowhood. Building a Ministry of Comfort and Compassion isn't a guideline, but a source of hope and encouragement on the journey into and through widowhood, as experienced by author Elaine Cook.

There is no handbook for women who suddenly find themselves on the downward spiral to widowhood. Building a Ministry of Comfort and Compassion isn't a guideline, but a source of hope and encouragement on the journey into and through widowhood, as experienced by author Elaine Cook.