Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Review is In :: Aftermath



Just as God's brilliant light streams through pieces of broken glass, His eternal love also shines through our broken hearts with His gentle gift of grace. - Margaret McSweeney




At some point in time, we will all lose someone we love; it is inevitable. Author Margaret McSweeney hopes to ease the loss and suffering we may feel through her newest book, Aftermath: Growing in Grace Through Grief.

McSweeney's book draws from and expands Carolyn Rhea's (her mother) book When Grief is Your Constant Companion: God's Grace for a Woman's Heartache, a book of 52 devotional poems written after the loss of Rhea's husband. McSweeney also includes other family writings she discovered when dealing with her own grief after the loss of her mother.

Throughout the novel, the author shares her own emotional experiences while processing the aspects of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. At each chapter, McSweeney provides scriptures to comfort, counsel from grief experts, a section for readers to journal with use of guided questions, and poetry from her mother's book.
McSweeney also gives input on how to handle grief through the holidays and special occasions; as well as, how to capture a loved one's legacy  and to find grace in the wilderness.

Excerpt:
Margaret McSweeney lit a candle in loving memory of her father, Dr. Claude H. Rhea Jr., who died in Paris on 9/19/90 while on a business trip. The last thing he did before heading to Charles de Gaulle Airport was to come to Notre Dame to light a candle and to pray for someone who had wronged him in a business deal. His final lesson to give during life was that of forgiveness.

Aftermath  will comfort, guide, and aide those who suffer from grief or loss. I encourage you to use this book to help with your own journey through grief or to share with others who are facing loss. I will be recommending this title to members of our church.

Margaret McSweeney's previous titles include A Mother's Heart Knows and Go Back and Be Happy. Readers can keep up with McSweeney at Kitchen Chat or the Pearl Girls blog.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Aftermath, please visit this link. If you would like to see what other bloggers are saying about this book, please visit this link.

{I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher, New Hope Publishers.}

No comments:

Post a Comment