Recently I began researching for a new children's book project. The books from the library have helped me formulate ideas for the main character, a young child.
So far I have been overjoyed with how it is taking shape, and relieved to discover we don't have to have the answers. We can write to inspire and facilitate discussion. Mike Gordon in "Rethinking our response to death" from Love is Moving Magazine reminds us "We don't need to understand or attempt to formulate answers. Be present, and Don't pretend to understand."
No one can say, "I would have done this" or "I don't think she thought that", because we don't really know how each person feels when they are suffering.
As a writer and matriarch, I spend a great deal thinking about the most valuable thing I can leave for my children and grandchildren. I want my children to see someone who has not wavered, someone who has stood strong, but more importantly, the someone responsible for my faith, and that is Jesus Christ. The Grandmother is not the hero, but is pointing to who is.
In this story "When Grandma Got Sick", there is a subtle thread of what Grandma leaves behind for her family.
I hope to have a discussion section in the book for readers and families to process together. I look forward to recording a narrated version, and possibly starting with an e-book, before going the traditional root. We shall see. For me, as a musician, I am already wondering what kind of music would play in the background while this little child (and we the readers) process life and death?