Sacred Sunday

Blessed Sunday, My Fellow Book Dragons. Our Gem this evening is delicate, a bright blue, it looks beautiful and perfect at first, but under the surface is a corruption, a malignancy that seems to fill every corner, but there is another layer – a final layer that comes shining through. White -brilliant, clear, and sweet. That is Faith. The Gem Maker is S. Jackson, but her real name is Mary L. Schmidt.

Mary’s story is for every parent. Every parent who loves their child. But also, every parent who has been abused as a child, every parent who is abused by the other parent. Every parent who has an abusive ex-spouse. Especially, every parent who has lost a child to cancer, to disease, to birth defect or accident. Unthinkable, unspeakable. The unimaginable loss. As Mary calls it in the book, the KING of Loss. I have never lost a Nestling to this type of death. I cannot not imagine, but Mary brings it to light in this book as much as anyone possibly could.

But she also shows the things a parent must do. Learning what the numbers mean related to the illness, the treatments, the good and the bad. Understanding what is needed and why. That Nestlings in treatment should not be left alone because nursing staff cannot and should not be expected to do everything a mother and father can do. That Nestlings need fun, too. Squirt gun fights, rides in wheelchairs and sunshine on their faces and fresh air as often as possible.

Self care: eating, sleep, people to talk to, emotional support. All this sounds simple, but when One is in the storm, One doesn’t always see the shore. Keeping One’s faith and anger at God. What is normal and what is not.

If you or someone you know is a support person for a Nestling with a terminal illness or birth defect, if you have already gone through this, please get this book and read it. Give it as a gift. It may be the very thing you need. If you are a Nurse, Doctor, Social Worker, Pastor, etc, this book is for you, too.

Thank you, Mary for sharing your story.

Drakon T. Longwitten, Your Humble Book Dragon