Review: The Reason Help and Hope for Those Who Grieve Sally Grablick
Posted: Wednesday, November 02, 2011
by Dr. Carla Goddard
"It's all about perspective, and so far, an open mind had been one of my greatest assets." The Reason"THE REASON is a gripping, true-to-life account of a Midwestern mother who, after the suicide of her 19 year old son, managed to find her way out of the black hole of grief and formulate a plan for recovery. It offers a hand to hold for those who must walk out of the funeral home, and guides them - intimately - along the sequential journey from heartache to healing. THIS IS A STORY of lessons learned, tools used, and insights gained while navigating the way through grief to hope. One such tool relies on a person's ability to cultivate openness to the presence of their loved ones spirit. The ability to recognized signs and receive messages - both spoken and silent - are gracefully woven together, forming the bigger picture that can bring closure and peace. GRIEVING FAMILIES, who are aching for intimate contact with those they have lost, will find this narrative to be like balm to the soul, offering empathy and comfort. From the depths of anguish, readers will find relief. From the chaos that death imposes, a sense of normalcy will gradually be restored. And from unfathomable heartbreak will emerge - A Reason."
The Reason is a spiritual journey of an ordinary woman feeling lost in the miry quicksand of grief, across a desert of helplessness, up a mountain of despair and finally reaching a vista of hope, love, and joy. Throughout the journey finding the tools to make sense of her 19 year old son's suicide. This is not a story of suicide, this is a story of living, of breathing, and of rediscovering the joy in life.
Sally Grablick did not want to become an "expert" in grief recovery, yet, from the mountain top vista, she can clearly see how every moment in her life has led her journey and soul's purpose. The gifts and miraculous experiences that came during her recovery from the paralyzing grip that grief can cause are weaved into tools that every soul can reconstruct their own lives with.
The raw vulnerability expressed in describing how her 19-year-old son shot himself in his room and her own spiral into the paralyzing grip of grief physically, emotionally, and spiritually is soul touching and engaging. Though I have not lost a child to suicide, I have experienced the anguish grief carries. The garden the author through the experiences of growth cultivates openness, a well spring of joy, and an abundance of flowering moments connecting with her son.
Ryan, her son, emerges from the other side to share his own story of spiritual growth after departing his earth experience. The communication between mother and son answers many questions that arise when we loose one we love such as where does one go and are they okay. Anyone who has experienced the anguish of grief will find comfort in this mother's words and learn how they might find closure of their own by communicating with their own loved ones.
At some point in life's journey, we all experience a loss - a child, a parent, a spouse, or even a job. The intentional grieving process gifted in this mother's journey offer the reader not only hope, but tools to recreate a life after the devastation of loss that includes laughter, joy, and soul comfort.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book to review.
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