GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN


By Natalie Bright

During the holidays, time can be bittersweet as we remember the loved ones who have passed on. For grieving parents, the time can be devastating. Laughing toddlers and loving family; the sights, sounds, smells of Christmas can weigh heavy on a grieving heart. The daily struggle seems endless and the loss is something you may never get over, but I made it through and you can too.

If you know of anyone suffering from the loss of a baby, I invite you to share with them my latest eBook:

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN offers healing words through verse and text for grieving parents. I didn’t begin where most books do on this topic; instead, I started at what happens when you get home. With empty arms, parents have to return to their life without the much anticipated new addition to their family. In addition to several of my favorite Bible verses, two very special ladies have contributed poetry on grief and hope.

Marianne McNeil Logan is an award winning rhyming poet. I’ve admired Marianne’s work for many years, and I enjoy rereading her chapbooks as inspiration for words and the writing craft. She continues to be a strong voice of encouragement for our local writing community.

Nell Lindenmeyer is a long-time friend through our day jobs and through our work in an organization which educates its members about the energy industry. When I discovered she wrote poetry, I asked if she might have some pieces on grief and the free-verse samples she sent absolutely blew me away. I hope you find inspiration and peace through them as much as I did.

From my heart to yours, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN, is a book of hope and healing after the loss of a baby.

For excerpts and reviews, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN is available at http://www.smashwords.com in a variety of eBook formats for only $4.99.

Read two of the poems now, below:

This Isn’t Me

by Marianne McNeil Logan

I say the strangest, weirdest things,

Not what I feel, at all—

Yet words that have been blurted out

Aren’t subject to recall.

 

What’s happened to my attitude,

My personality?

It seems all feeling has withdrawn

And left a shell of me. 

Will spirit and faith ever return?

Last One

by Nell Lindenmeyer

I will not cry for your being gone

But for the life left to be lived that will go on ahead of you

All the laughter that was meant to be heard

And all the tears we’ll never learn to share together

Your dying reminds me of drinking fine champagne from a crystal glass

I appreciate the beauty of the finely etched glass as I swirl it in my hand

But my thirst isn’t quenched by the smooth, rich liquid gold

All I think about is that last drop that I can’t have as it swirls off the rim

And settles into the small hollow

Last one to hold onto love has to say it

I love you.

***

Natalie Bright

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN


By Natalie Bright

I have the perfect home office, which I blogged about previously at WordSmith Six.

Sometimes, the ideal situation might stifle your creative muse, as I found out when I tried to write a story that has been on my heart and mind for the past fifteen years. The story is about the loss of our firstborn son, and to write it I had to be in the middle of the chaos, with television and two perfectly healthy sons asking, “what’s for dinner”. The result is a book for grieving parents and families who’ve suffered the loss of a baby.

GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN offers healing words through verse and text for grieving parents. I didn’t begin where most books do on this topic; instead, I started at what happens when you get home. With empty arms, parents have to return to their life without the much anticipated new addition to their family. The daily struggle seems endless and the loss is something you may never get over, but we made it through and you can too.

In addition to several of my favorite Bible verses, two very special ladies have contributed poetry on grief and hope.

Marianne McNeil Logan is an award winning rhyming poet. I’ve admired Marianne’s work for many years, and I enjoy rereading her chapbooks as inspiration for words and the writing craft. She continues to be a strong voice of encouragement for our local writing community.

Nell Lindenmeyer is a long-time friend through a our day jobs and through our work in an organization which educates its members about the energy industry. When I discovered she wrote poetry, I asked if she might have some pieces on grief and the free-verse samples she sent absolutely blew me away. I hope you find inspiration and peace through them as much as I did.

From my heart to yours, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN, is a book of hope and healing after the loss of a baby, and is available on amazon.com for your Kindle. Click on the title now to download to your Kindle, and please let me know if any of the content touches your heart. Email me natalie@nataliebright.com.

Read an excerpt below:

1. LIVING WITH GRIEF

This past year our oldest son would have turned fifteen. As I write, tears fill my eyes, and I swallow the lump in my throat. How could I have forgotten his birthday again? I had planned to purchase a wreath, fasten a well-used toy from a younger brother’s room, and visit the cemetery to honor the special day. In the swirl of daily life, the date had slipped past, and I had done nothing.

Through the years, the pain over losing a baby will resurface out of nowhere. Special dates and events will pass without a second thought, and at other times, the overwhelming sense of loss will smack you out of nowhere. You must learn to live with your grief.

Playgrounds are difficult for me. Watching children yell and swing and slide reminds me of the missing link in our family. Certain times of the year are more painful than others. When I buy new clothes and school supplies for our two sons, I always feel a certain sense of loss and emptiness. I should be buying three sets of erasers, glue, and colored notebooks, instead of two.

During the past years, the only way I have found best to deal with this grief is to block the five days of our firstborn son’s life from my mind. That’s the way it’s been since we lost our sweet Clayton. My husband finds comfort in stopping by his grave and honoring our son on birthdays and holidays. For me, when I visit the cemetery, I sink into a deep depression that lasts for weeks. The memory of the overwhelming sense of hopelessness I felt as we left the hospital with empty arms consumes me. Every emotion and memory vividly haunts me, even now fifteen years later. I have learned to block the delivery experience from my thoughts without guilt, all the while remembering his presence in this world.

To read more, GONE NEVER FORGOTTEN is available on Kindle for only $4.99.

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 37 KB
  • Publisher: Apollo Publishing LLC; 1 edition (August 25, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B005K9POP2