When her alcoholic and emotionally abusive mother’s health declines, Joan Rough invites her to move in with her. Rough longs to be the “good daughter,” helping her narcissistic mother face the reality of her coming death. But when repressed memories of childhood abuse by her mother arise, Rough is filled with deep resentment and hatred toward the woman who birthed her, and her dream of mending their tattered relationship shatters. Seven years later, when her mother dies, she is left with a plastic bag of her mother’s ashes and a diagnosis of PTSD. What will she do with them? Courageous and unflinchingly honest, Scattering Ashes is a powerful chronicle of letting go of a loved one, a painful past, and fear―a journey that will bring hope to others who grapple with the pain and repercussions of abuse.
Scattering Ashes is a resource for Christian families confronting the reality of their loved one's gay lifestyle. Joyce Smith Helyer takes the reader on a journey that changed her life when her brother began their midnight Christmas Eve conversation with these words, "Joyce, I have something to tell you." As I waited expectantly for what he was going to say next, he paused, but then shifted the conversation. He tried again, but the same thing happened. I felt like he was trying to land an airplane in trouble and kept circling the airport looking for the best approach. His attempted landings kept falling short of the runway. A vague sense of uneasiness began to fill my mind . . . Little did I realize that my nice, "typical" Christian experience would be undergoing a significant change . . . Fear I could barely articulate almost overwhelmed me . . . Finally, I looked at my handsome, 26-year-old brother and knew the words he was having so much difficulty saying. "Ron, are you trying to tell me you're gay?" His quiet response echoed across the living room. "I thought you had it figured out."
Inspired by the website that the New York Times hailed as "redefining mourning," this book is a fresh and irreverent examination into navigating grief and resilience in the age of social media, offering comfort and community for coping with the mess of loss through candid original essays from a variety of voices, accompanied by gorgeous two-color illustrations and wry infographics. At a time when we mourn public figures and national tragedies with hashtags, where intimate posts about loss go viral and we receive automated birthday reminders for dead friends, it’s clear we are navigating new terrain without a road map. Let’s face it: most of us have always had a difficult time talking about death and sharing our grief. We’re awkward and uncertain; we avoid, ignore, or even deny feelings of sadness; we offer platitudes; we send sympathy bouquets whittled out of fruit. Enter Rebecca Soffer and Gabrielle Birkner, who can help us do better. Each having lost parents as young adults, they co-founded Modern Loss, responding to a need to change the dialogue around the messy experience of grief. Now, in this wise and often funny book, they offer the insights of the Modern Loss community to help us cry, laugh, grieve, identify, and—above all—empathize. Soffer and Birkner, along with forty guest contributors including Lucy Kalanithi, singer Amanda Palmer, and CNN’s Brian Stelter, reveal their own stories on a wide range of topics including triggers, sex, secrets, and inheritance. Accompanied by beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and witty "how to" cartoons, each contribution provides a unique perspective on loss as well as a remarkable life-affirming message. Brutally honest and inspiring, Modern Loss invites us to talk intimately and humorously about grief, helping us confront the humanity (and mortality) we all share. Beginners welcome.
Sam Holmes' simple life is radically changed when his father suddenly passes away and the Last Will and Testament are read. To earn his inheritance, Sam must travel to the places that had been significant and scatter his father's ashes at these destinations.
Clarence Wolfshohl promised his wife Patricia that he'd scatter her ashes at places they had enjoyed together during their forty-five years of marriage. These poems and photos return to those spots as he fulfills his promise and meditates on their marriage.
A gorgeously illustrated companion to the fashion documentary of the same name, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman is an unforgettable collection of anecdotes, from the hilarious to the poignant, in commemoration of the internationally renowned luxury specialty store’s 111th anniversary. With delightful remembrances from celebrities, designers, and highly regarded fashion insiders—from Manolo Blahnik, Marc Jacobs, and Vera Wang to Joan Rivers, Susan Lucci, and Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen—Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman also features a foreword by fashion writer Holly Brubach, as well as art and photography from major advertising campaigns and original vintage sketches created by Bergdorf at the collection presentations of designers such as Lanvin, Chanel, and Balenciaga. This is an essential book for anyone who loves fashion, the thrill of a sumptuous shopping experience, and wonderful stories told by and about the famous.
Sarah Jones started her career as a surgeon in the NHS and then worked with adults with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour. Fulfilling a life-long ambition she opened Full Circle Funerals, an award-winning independent funeral director, in 2016. Sarah wrote this book because she sees the benefits of people being able to create funerals that are right for them. After reading this short book, you will be able to articulate your own wishes, have a meaningful conversation with others, and will feel more confident when arranging a funeral for someone who has died.
Two sisters take off on a wild road trip in this poignant tale for fans of Counting by 7s and Fish in a Tree After Mama Lacy’s death, Fella was forced to move in with her grandmother, Mrs. Madison. The move brought Fella all sorts of comforts she wasn't used to at home, but it also meant saying goodbye to her sister Zoey (a.k.a. Zany) and her other mother, Mama Shannon. Though Mama Shannon fought hard to keep Fella, it was no use. The marriage act is still a few years away and the courts thought Fella would be better off with a blood relation. Already heartbroken, Fella soon finds herself alone in Mrs. Madison's house, grieving both the death of her mother and the loss of her entire family. Then one night, Zany shows up at Mrs. Madison’s house determined to fulfill Mama Lacy’s dying wish: to have her ashes spread over the lawn of the last place they were all happy as a family. Of course, this means stealing Mama Lacy’s ashes and driving hundreds of miles in the middle of night to Asheville, North Carolina. Their adventure takes one disastrous turn after another, but their impulsive journey helps them rediscover the bonds that truly make them sisters. A heartrending story of family torn apart and put back together again, Ashes to Asheville is an important, timely tale.
For the past four years Jane Miller, author of Crazy Age: Thoughts on Being Old, has been writing a column for an American magazine called In These Times. Her beautifully observed pieces about life, politics and Britain open a window to her American readers of a world very different from their own. 'Her erudition is both dazzling and lightly borne, the personal often illuminating the political . . . Miller's is a welcome, necessary voice - readable, informative and entertaining' Times Literary Supplement Jane Miller, author of the acclaimed Crazy Age, has for the past few years been writing a column for an American magazine based in Chicago called In These Times. Now, these beautifully observed pieces about life, politics and Britain, which opened a window for Americans on a world rather different from their own, are collected and published for the first time for her British readers. 'Miller is a fantastic companion' Viv Groskop, Telegraph
A resource book for anyone who is planning a funeral. You may be a family member or a friend of someone who has died. You may be planning your own funeral. You may arrange and conduct funerals professionally. Here you will find an abundance of words and ideas for celebrating a life in ways that are personal and honest.
