I would like to share a self help book My Grief Is Not Like Yours: Learning to Live after Unimaginable Loss, A Daughter’s Story by Theo Boyd (Author) this books is for anyone dealing with grief from losing a spouse. I received a copy of the book in exchange for this review. Check out the press release September is National Suicide Prevention Month AND Deaf Awareness Month: Woman’s Story of Grief and Hope Has Ties to Both here:
The Author is right when she says my grief is not like yours. If you’ve never had to deal with grief I would like to let you know from a personal standpoint everyone grieves differently and at different times. Not only that grief for a parent is different from other types of grief including a child. For me personally I’ve deal with not only the loss of my mom and dad but also my child a grief I wouldn’t want anyone else to have to go through.
For those of you that didn’t know my daughter died first when she was only 16. Not only did I have to grieve my daughters passing I had to watch my family grieve her death. Life moved on and I was able to come to terms with my daughters death. Then my mom ended up sick with Cancer. My mom passed away and I had to deal with that grief and trying to figure out why the LORD kept taking the people I loved.
I had to watch not only my son deal with his grandmother’s passing and my nephew and his children dealing with there grandmothers passing but had to watch my siblings and dad deal with my moms death. I worried everyday about my dad and if he would survive my moms death which he did but he struggled everyday just as my brother does.
The LORD blessed us with 10 years of being with my dad by himself. One day my dad had surgery and ended up in a Coma My dad never came out of the coma and passed away 3 weeks later. Here comes the grief again. Even though I have my sister and brother most days I feel like I am a orphan’ or at least that is how I felt. ‘I didn’t think I could survive another death but I had no, choice but to move on for Charlie and David.
Now I watch and worry about David’s parents who are reaching there upper 80’s and 90’s. I wonder how much longer they will be here and I can’t see either of them surviving without the other. I don’t know how there death will affect Charlie and David. What I do know is before this happens I plan on sharing what I learned from the book with them.
I plan on asking Charlie and David to read this amazing book by Theo Boyd, Then I plan on sharing the book with David’s rother Bo and his brother Mike. I also will sit down discuss this book with Charie because as I get older I may not be here one day. I would like to prepare Charlie as much as I can. If you feel this way as well then you should pick up a copy of My Grief Is Not Like Yours: Learning to Live after Unimaginable Loss, A Daughter’s Story.
As I read the book I felt like I had a knew friend in the Author and someone I could talk to about the things we’ve both gone through. I enjoyed learning about the Author’s family. I know David would have liked to meet a Peanut Farmer if he could eat the Peanuts. I loved having questions at the end of the chapters which I answered in a journal to share with David and Charlie.
About the book:
A daughter’s heartbreaking and tragic story of losing her parents—and hope for those walking their own journey through grief.
Theo had always been close to her parents. Her father was a Texas peanut farmer, rancher, and preacher; her mother, deaf from a young age, was the glue that held them all together. Then one Summer day in 2019, everything changed when Theo’s mother died in a tragic accident on their family farm. As Theo began to process this loss, her marriage started to unravel, adding another painful layer to her grief.
Meanwhile, Theo continued to care for her father who was shaken to his core by the tragedy. Nothing could erase the agony he felt from losing his love and soulmate of over fifty years, and one night he chose to escape his pain by ending his life. Theo suddenly had to learn to live without the two people who were her constant love and support—her parents.
In My Grief Is Not Like Yours, Theo gives an unforgettable account of how quickly life can turn to grief. Beautifully woven, this book is threaded with memories and raw emotions that are seldom discussed. Theo shows readers how she endured the unimaginable. She walks beside anyone navigating through their grief, helping them feel less alone and guiding them to hope and healing.
“We are all unique, in life and in death. We are born, we live, we die, and we grieve, but my grief is not like yours.”
—Theo Boyd
Meet the Author: Theo Boyd
Thelizabeth Boyd was born and raised on a farm in the small town of Whitney, Texas. Her unique name is derived from her grandmothers—Thelma and Elizabeth. In middle school, her classmates nicknamed her Theo. It stuck!
Theo grew up writing poems with her daddy, learned faith through hardship from her momma, and finished college late in life to become a high school English and Creative Writing teacher. She was awarded Rookie Teacher of the Year her first year in the classroom while continuing to write as a guest columnist for several local newspapers.
In 2019 a sudden and traumatic loss set the scene for her debut memoir, My Grief Is Not Like Yours. It was also the catalyst for her podcast, Think Theo, where she discusses complicated grief and the many layers of loss.
When she’s not writing, Theo can be found with her dog Manly by her side, walking the fields on the farm, planning her next podcast with a glass of wine, or enjoying an evening out with close friends. She and Manly currently live on the lake in her hometown of Whitney.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
