“I am the reminder of the most unwelcome message in human history: Children – yours, mine – they don’t necessarily live.”
When she was just two years old, Greta was sitting on a bench next to her grandmother in New York City when a brick fell off a building and hit her head. Despite getting quick medical attention, the damage was too severe and Greta passed away. Her parents donated some of her organs, but had to leave the hospital without their daughter in their arms. Greta’s father, Jayson Greene, shares his and his wife’s path of grief in Once More We Saw Stars.
I wish I could remember how I first heard about this story, but when I did, I added Once More We Saw Stars to my to-read list. I waited several weeks for the book to become available from my local library as an ebook checkout. Greene writes from his heart and tells the story with honesty, showing the true heartbreak of losing a child.
Greene shows the readers how he and his wife each learned to deal with their daughter’s death in different ways, but by always leaning on each other. They accepted help from friends and family, ended up moving, joined support groups, set up her ashes and finally tried to get pregnant again. Greene shows their raw emotional state. On what would be Greta’s third birthday, they head to New Mexico to find a new way to commemorate her life.
I am very glad I read this book and am glad Greene shared his story in Once More We Saw Stars. It gives a glimpse into the grief a parent can experience when losing a child. Reading this book with increase sympathy. One lesson I learned – a parent is almost always thinking about his or her children, whether living or dead. I think this is an important book to read, but grab some tissues.
How have you dealt with grief in your life? Share in the comments.