Check out my review at:

http://shannonsbookbag.blogspot.com/2014/08/rare-bird-whiston-donaldson.html ( )

Generally when I get a review book, my turn around is pretty quick. However I received Anna Whiston-Donaldson's Rare Bird outside my regular channels and the subject matter seemed to heavy to just jump in. So as my book stacks piled up, I kept putting her book at the bottom of the pile. A book that I'll definitely get to, soon-ish. When I finally picked it up to read in earnest, I read it cover-to-cover in one sitting.

This book is a tearjerker. Whiston-Donaldson tells the story of the death of Jack, her twelve-year-old boy that drowned in a near by creek. Most of the book is the story of her, her husband Tim and daughter Margret pick up the pieces in the midst of their grief. Whiston-Donaldson is vulnerable about how Jack's death made her feel self-loathing, deep pain, isolation and broken. She also struggles to hold on to her faith in God through mourning. This memoir is set in the first year since Jack's passing, so you see her walk through the raw pain and shock, and the cloud of grief that settles in afterward. You also see rays of hope break in as she learns to live with the pain. She also comes to trust that Jack is somehow still close to her.

This is Whiston-Donaldson's story in her own words. I think many of the short chapters, probably came to life as blog entries (she blogs about her grief online). It is a touching story and I am glad I read it. I give it four stars.

I received this book from Convergent Books in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Does God prepare us for terrible events? If so, why doesn’t He stop them from happening? If He answers prayer, why doesn’t He answer the heartfelt prayers of church and family for the life of a child? If He loves us, why does He let us get hurt?

Author Anna Whiston-Donaldson has asked all these questions while dealing with grief over the senseless loss of her son. One moment’s decision, one instant’s lack of care, and one unlikely convergence of coincidence, then a life is gone. Then grief is left behind.

The author starts her memoir before the accident, introducing a fairly normal family with slightly awkward misfit son, good friends, good neighbors, good church and plenty of good will. Then the worst day ever dawns - so much worse than any childhood complaint.

This is a painful book to read, as the author lays bare her inmost feelings of loss and betrayal, guilt, anger and more. “No one has ever told me that grief feels a lot like shame,” she writes, as those who have grieved will surely understand. And “it does get better. But not before it gets worse.”

Is it okay to be angry with God? Is it okay not to smile? Is it okay to believe in dreams and take hope from other people’s visions? Then, in the end, is it okay when someone declares that the one they’ve lost is so very “close”?

“The veil between ‘here’ and ‘there’ is very thin.” The moment between safe and lost is very small. And the journey to learning that death ends a life, not a relationship? That journey is both short and long, as this memoir reveals. It’s difficult, of course, to read this, especially for anyone with children. But it feels honest. It feels real. Having read it, I feel better prepared for whatever is yet to be, and I recommend this book to anyone facing grief, or imagining it.

Disclosure: Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

An excellent, raw journey into the depths of a mother's heart after losing a child. ( )

This book was raw, captivating, and will tug on your heart strings. You will cry. There's no other way about it. It is a sad book, but it's also filled with hope and new beginnings.

The way Anna writes the book is reader friendly and the chapters are never too long. Her language is simplistic, yet beautiful. She is open and honest about her experiences of losing her child. She shares some of her most precious memories of Jack and makes sure not to put him on a pedestal. She shares his triumphs, his downfalls, his quirks, and his joy for the world.

Rare Bird is inspiring and a real treasure. A highly recommended read.

(*Note I received an advanced readers copy from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review.) ( )