“I read her first book on The After Journey: Getting Through the First Year, verbatim voices from widows. This book has been most encouraging to me during my first year of grief. When I did not feel like talking to anyone, felt like no one could understand me, this book ministered to me in my solitude moments. There were countless voices and statements in this book that expressed how I exactly felt. This brought comfort to my grief, knowing I was not alone. I valued those voices so much till my book was highlighted with post-it flags all over it.”
~Constance Gow, Singapore
“I have been leading widowed support groups for several years. A variety of topics continue to be addressed by most widowed people. This book takes these topics and talks about them similar to the way they are discussed in a support group. Many people are afraid to bring up items in groups as they think they are going crazy or they are the only person to feel as they do. Laurie-Ann’s book brings out these issues and discusses them in a way that is applicable to every person who has lost their spouse or partner. I have passed The After Journey around at support meetings and just people flipping through the book have made the comment, “Gee, I thought I was the only one who thought that.” Excellent book that every widowed person should have and read.”
~Deborah Richmond, Eagle River, Alaska
“The After Journey, how do I explain how wonderful it is.
When my husband died 8 months ago, I thought I would die too and I tried reading a few grief books but THEY did not apply to ME. Then I heard an interview with Laurie-Ann on a late night talk show. I could not wait to get her book.
As I read The After Journey, it is like having my own support group any time I need it. I hear the voices of everyone in the book and I add mine to theirs. Reading her book helps me know that what I feel through this journey is very normal and OK.
I can read The After Journey and know that she and the other people who shared their lives with Laurie-Ann, have cried the same tears I cry and have survived. Reading her book gives me great comfort and knowledge that I am not alone in this journey. It will be with me forever and I will share it with every widowed person I meet.”
~Dorothy Johnson, Florida
“A book fully understood by the heart. Laurie-Ann is one who “gets it” and this book got right beneath my navel in the underbelly of my soul. The full value and meaning of these writings is an emotional experience, especially when you apply the words to your own life’s experiences.”
~Tom Harkenrider, Friend, Widower and Chief of Operations, Soka University
“Grief is an intensely personal emotion. This book provides a peer group: companions and mentors to hold your hand and give hope as you walk this difficult journey. By sharing the thoughts and stories of those who have walked this road before it reassures us “Hang in there, you can do this. You are not going crazy.” Thank you Laurie for caring enough to write this book.”
~Dr. Judith Ford, Associate Professor in Radiation Oncology and Medical Director of Palliative Care Program, UCLA
“The After Journey is a hand to hold onto in the darkness following the death of a loved one. The words, stories and shared insight will guide and inspire you to feel, grieve and then go on courageously to forge new paths.”
~Sheila Ellison, Author, www.thecompletemom.com
“At last here is a book that helps a widow, especially in her first year of grief, to know what to expect and to recognize that these feelings are ‘normal’ for her. It provides a realistic and reassuring approach on how she should continue living with dignity, bravery and wisdom. This is a book every new widow will want to have on their bedside and when the going gets tough.”
~Sherlyn Quek, Widow, Singapore
“As a widower, when I first started reading the book, it made me very sad because I related to the stories. Then I realized that I wasn’t alone and I am normal. Many times I was told how to handle my grief but everyone needs to handle grief in their own way and never be criticized for it. This book is every widow and widowers book because we get to see that we are not alone in our grief. Thank you, Laurie.”
~Elliot Ryal, Norwalk, California
“This is not a ‘how to’ book and thank God! Through her own struggles and the experience of others, Laurie companions the reader in the day to day grief of everyday life.”
~Chaplain Howard Young M. Div., Board Certified Chaplain in critical care, trauma and surgery. Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo, California
“When I began to read The After Journey, it brought back so many memories that made me feel so sad. But when I read further, I realized this book is not just about grief, sadness and the terrible pain we have all gone through; it is about the love only two people can have for each other till death do us part. For only out of so much love can so much grief come to us. If nothing else, this book has shown me that through the gray mist of my grieving, I could see the light of the love I thought I had lost. Laurie-Ann’s book is the match that lit that light for me. Thank you.”
~Kenneth Yen, Widower, England
“Thank you so much for sending me the chapters of your book and the stories from other people. It has all helped me a lot. You think you are the only one to have these feelings and that no one else has lost someone; so although I know in my heart of hearts that isn’t so, it is a comfort to read about other people and know that you are not alone.”
~Sally Smith, Widow, England