Lisa's off-beat sense of humor coupled with her admitted sense of fear and frustration make the journey the reader takes with her entertaining at times, sad and poignant at others. There are moments of laugh-out-loud humor mixed with somber tales of fear, exhaustion and loneliness-a more than fair reckoning in a long-term and often grueling process that, like the rest of human life, has no failsafe user's manual for managing the experiences inherent in loss and grief.

Here's the hook: each story Lisa tells speaks to an issue related to the losing of or the loss of a partner. The initial importance of each issue will vary, according to the reader's own experience, level of awareness, and place in his or her private encounter with loss and grief. There is a comfortable familiarity the reader eases into before the end of the second story; Lisa's almost wistful but definitely conspiratorial "But that's not what I meant to tell you. What I meant to tell you was..." draws the reader in. There's a sense that Lisa will understand what the reader is dealing with; she makes it clear that, especially in dangerous, uncharted waters, there is safety in numbers. Lisa doesn't pretend she has all the answers; in fact, she complains that she hasn't even defined all of the questions. She shares her stories in the hope that she can shed a little light to make the night seem a little less dark; she's spent time groping for matches, too, and knows how it feels.

Lisa's stories are sometimes sore to the touch; she takes the reader into the examining room the day her husband Tony's cancer is diagnosed, into the waiting room during his multiple surgeries, into the mortuary after he's gone. She quietly confides her anxiety over the ways she's changed since Tony's death.

Her stories are also ironic and funny; there is verbal fencing as Tony and Lisa debate what his last words might be, how they (well, how she) should spend his life insurance money, and just how far Lisa will go to try and save the day during their very last fight.

There are hundreds of books about death, the dying process, the grieving process, and the struggle to move through the world without a beloved partner. This one is unique in its unabashed, wholly unapologetic, irreverent candor, filtered through the awareness and personality of an unwilling participant who even now can think of ten things she'd rather have been doing instead. Its approach is moody and funny, pain-streaked and pensive, and most readers looking for someone to keep them company during the harsh nights of hopeful survivorship will be glad they found Widow's Weeds: Lessons Learned from the Death of a Partner.

Dead Cheap begins from the moment death is declared. The book covers some of the realities your survivors are going to have to deal with: cons, manipulation, tricks, etc.

Face it, when you are pronounced dead, your survivors are powerless (for a short time), but you can protect them. The information contained in Dead Cheap can help you make your final decisions, removing most of the stress from your survivors.

You will find in Dead Cheap traditional and unusual solutions to problems encountered when disposing of the body. A step by step exploration of the Mortuary and Crematory processes, the many pitfalls and how you can turn the tables on Salesmen, "well-meaning" relatives, guilt trips and trauma, now while you are still alive.

If you are a responsible adult with survivors, no matter how young you might be, you need to take a few hours and protect your loved ones.

This diary is an emotive account of a mother's struggle with the tragic death of her only child and how she found a way forward during the first year of the loss.

The book is a self-help book to help victims of abuse or misfortune find their way out of the maze of disempowering beliefs that are accumulated as a result of the abuse or misfortune. Specifically, it is a guide to assist in reprogramming those negative beliefs. It also includes my own story of surviving various abuses and how I overcame the negative effects of these abuses: satanic abuse as a toddler; sexual, physical, and emotional abuse throughout my childhood/adolescence; intermittent rapes and suicidal tendencies; "battered wife's syndrome" as an adult; a severe auto accident in 1997; self-destructive habits acquired along life's path, and the resulting various abusive relationships engaged in because of the negative perceptions I gleaned and believed about myself.

The main message is that we can regenerate ourselves, however we wish to do so after abuse and misfortune, through God's daily guidance, because each of us retains the ultimate power to do that, no matter what lies about ourselves that the perpetrators or seemingly unfortunate mishaps have planted into our minds. A loving, all-powerful God created us and we can use our God-given "free will" to REPROGRAM our own minds to accept the truth about ourselves: that we are amazing, wondrous, beautiful people, not because anything we have done or anything we can do in the future, but simply because God made us that way. We are good!

A book that can touch everyone from all walks of life. It is a positively uplifting vision and approach to our passing from here into the next phase. It will wipe the slate clean of any fear or doubt we all may experience. A book chock-full of emotions - one of life - one of Heaven.

Renowned author Richard G. Fernicola M.D.
Diplomatic American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

After the death of her husband of many years, Olivia bravely followed her heart while passing through the many stages of adapting to life alone. Turning her back on loneliness, her curiosity led her to discover a new and wonderful world.

This book is a legacy. It was written in memory and tribute to an amazing woman. Her name was Jan. She died just fifteen days short of her fiftieth birthday. Far too young. This book is a copulative work of Jan's feelings, fears and perspective on life, leaving and death. And my emotion as I shared her final days.

Not many of us have been spared the brushing of cancer in our lives, either personally or in the loss of a friend or family member. And certainly we have all suffered the loss of a loved one and finding our way back to the path of life after such loss. Through conversations chronicled here in a free style poetry form, you will, I hope, come to a new understanding of facing our own mortality and the importance of "Walking with a friend, to the end of the Road." A life changing experience I can assure you. I hope you enjoy the walk you take with Jan and I and I believe you will come away feeling emotions as never before. Enjoy the journey...

The book is about a promise that a mother makes on the day her only son, Adam Arthur James dies, at age nineteen. This is a true story of a connection between mother and son that leads to a beautiful, inspirational book filled with original poetry, songs, and insightful life lessons. The book is about death, grieving, finding purpose, and following a destiny which connected this world and the world beyond. Mostly, the book is about faith and unexplainable events that drive a grieving mother to aspire to a profound and magical place. The story is real and a gift to anyone who reads it. Inserted in this book is a CD, called Adam's Sound, which provides the reader with not only a reading opportunity, but a listening opportunity of some of Adam's original songs (16 songs/approximately 40 minutes).

Falls the Deepest Shadow is a self-help book for those who have lost a spouse. It is written from the heart by a man for a man but will be equally helpful to women because of the tenderness and sensitivity of its style. The process and progress of healing from grief, loneliness, pain and a myriad of other emotions that accompanies the loss of a spouse is uniquely documented in the book through the use of e-mail correspondence sent to friends during the author's first year of mourning

The book addresses four truths surrounding the grieving process: Nobody's Grief Is Worse Than Yours; The Best Route Past Grief Is Through It; Seek The Support Of Others, and Grieving Is Hard Work. The book is not all about sadness, however. There is humor in its pages as well --a convincing way of making the point that grieving does lessen with time. In a captivating and seductive style the author discusses the many moods of his grieinv journey and offers helpful insights and suggestions for the recent griever. It is a mellifluous read with ample documentation of the author's healing journey, a few good smiles, and ends on an upbeat note.

BORN ON 18TH MARCH 1946, my husband, Douglas Clifford Sullivan was diagnosed with non-small cell carcinoma of the right bronchus on 5th February 1998. This book tells the story of how he managed his illness from this date through to his death on 26th April 2002, aged 56. Doug battled with cancer for four and a half years, and did so with courage, determination, good humour and a resolve that nothing would interfere with his zest for life, however short that life might be.

Over this period of time I decided to make notes in the form of a diary. Knowing Doug as I did for thirty-three years, I knew there would be an inspiring story to tell, but at this point I wasn't sure just how I was going to cope with the situation myself. Therefore I have included my own personal thoughts and feelings in addition to his own experiences, in the hope that this would perhaps enable me to come to terms with the reality that I may lose him at some point, and also empower me with suffi cient strength of mind so that I would be better equipped to support him over the coming weeks, months and hopefully years. Although Doug knew what I was doing, he never asked to see what I had written. He always encouraged me when I wrote poetry and was keen to read it, but I think this time he probably didn't wish to intrude on my personal, innermost thoughts on such an emotive issue.

All who knew him, and there were a great many, stood in awe of the man who, despite enduring periods of treatment- induced sickness and discomfort, still managed to continue to work full time, crack a joke and sink a pint or two at the same time! Every day was precious and no matter how he felt he was grateful for it and was determined to enjoy it.

His journey was every bit as much one for me and his family who were right there at the sharp end with him, and when he fi nally succumbed to this disease, despite the expected mixture of highly emotional feelings of grief, anger, disbelief etc. we all felt privileged in a strange sort of way to have been part of that journey, and so grateful for the valuable lessons he had taught us along the way. Yes! there were tears at times, utter frustration and feelings of worthlessness, even desperate attempts to search alternative avenues for a cure, but as you will see as the chapters unfold there was also laughter, attributable of course to Doug's wonderful sense of fun (sometimes bordering on the bizarre!) and his ability to dig deep enough and fi nd an element of humour under the most gruelling circumstances.

In order to gain insight into the very essence of this special man, it is necessary to take the story back to the beginning when we first met, followed by the years spent rearing a family. The first three chapters are therefore devoted to this period in our lives.

I hope this book may perhaps be a source of comfort and encouragement to cancer victims and their loved ones, Doug's legacy to those currently living with it and to those who will have to live with it in the future.

This book of poetry is from my heart. These words came out of a place so deep within me that it sustained my life when I wanted to die too as I watched my son's life slip away. The story of this dying process comes from my perspective. It's the best I can give you. My son, Thomas, had to endure the pain and suffering of cancer and an amputation that could never heal plus the fear and dread of leaving a wife and young child, which is a sorrow I cannot even imagine for such a tender loving man and devoted father. The story poured out of my heart through my fingertips and onto the page as the great river of grief flowed through me. Allowing it, so I later learned, is what awakened in me the ancient force I was longing to reconnect to, but had forgotten how... my soul.

I wrote these poems for myself, it was how I survived the grief of my son's death. Now I want to share my son's story, his love, my love, the love that runs through us and is us. May the thread of connectedness be revealed so that in hearing our story, you may take courage when the time comes and really give yourself permission to be present and truly show up!!! In the end the only thing that really matters is love.

Through poetry I have woven a web of connectedness, a bridge into the shared heart of a mother and her dying son. The way is lighted for you, but your experience will be your own. you will learn what there is for you to learn. There are no words to describe some things and poetry is such a beautiful way to give these "no words" expression. The deepest experience is awarded those who can read between the lines. I encourage you to read aloud those passages that bring tears to your eyes or a lump in your throat. You do me honor which I pass on to my son. These words came from a place so deep within that it sustained me when I wanted to die in sympathy as I watched the life force slip away from my son's wasting body. Through grief I encountered my soul ... and re-awakened to my soul journey.

Pet Loss introduces the reader to pet owners who have experienced great losses. Their stories provide wisdom and support while embracing the reader in a larger community of animal lovers.

Pet Loss is compelling reading for all who have experienced the unconditional love of a pet and whose lives are forever touched because of this love.

A portion of all sales will benefit animals in need.

When My Time Comes is a self-help book, aimed at the average individual, who doesn't like to think about death, but who really needs to take care of the basics and alleviate or lessen the pain and agony that usually accompanies the passing of a loved one. It is just some common everyday advice for the common everyday person; it is not legal advice, and it does not replace a will or a good estate plan, but it can really be useful and serve as a guide or a plan for what must come to every person on earth.