Well-known Canadian children’s poet and author Sheree Fitch never imagined the writing of this poetic memoir. Thrown into the deepest of grief when her youngest adult son suddenly passed away, Fitch found herself sharing a few of her penned words with a friend. Her friend recognized the words as a way for Sheree to find her own healing but also offering those words as an expression for the many others who have experienced the anguish of losing a child.
Fitch’s first phone call was to her own mother, who had also lost a son, Fitch’s brother, in an earlier untimely death. “You won’t always be this sad” were her mother’s words of comfort and hope. As Fitch grieved with her oldest son as well as comforted her grandchildren, she discovered deep gratitude.
Fitch gives voice to her grief as she slowly comes back to a new way of being. Walking her outdoor labyrinth becomes a real-life metaphor for learning to walk and see and open up her broken heart again. Fitch searches out beautiful places to allow the sadness to wash over her and bring cleansing.
In the acknowledgments, Fitch recommends Nicholas Wolterstorff’s Lament for a Son. You Won’t Always Be This Sad offers a mother’s voice to join that lament. (Nimbus Publishing)
About the Author
Jenny deGroot is a freelance media review and news writer for The Banner. She lives on Swallowfield Farm near Fort Langley B.C. with her husband, Dennis. Before retirement she worked as a teacher librarian and assistant principal.