This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Ellen Krohne has been blessed to have had many “acts” in her work life, none of which prepared her for the once-in-a-lifetime, emotional experience of writing and publishing her first book, We Lost Her. She’s been an executive director of the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, a not for profit organization, an international business consultant at Capgemini and an executive of an investor-owned utility, Illinois Power, all of which challenged her skills. Writing her first book challenged her heart and faith and helped her to heal from the traumatic loss of her mother and brother decades ago and her father more recently. She learned so much about grief, faith and her family in the process and is humbled to share her and her six siblings’ grief journeys and learnings with you.
Ellen is donating half of all profits from sales of We Lost Her to the not-for-profit organization, Heartlinks Grief Center, a program of Family Hospice in Belleville Illinois that provides grief services to all in southwestern Illinois. Learn more about Heartlinks Grief Center and contact the author at www.myheartlinks.com on the blog page at the site. She serves as a volunteer there and is on the board of directors.
Reviewed by Ankita Shukla for Readers' Favorite
Ellen Krohne, the author, has opened her soul and heart in the memoir, We Lost Her. Ellen and her six siblings were raised in a happy and loving environment. Although their father was not openly affectionate, he loved his kids in his own special way. His actions spoke louder than words. Their mother was a woman with a very strong personality. They were not financially well off but, as the author said, in her childhood they were "rich in love." However, when their mother passed away, the whole family crumbled under this loss. To an outsider, they might have looked like a well-functioning family, but on the inside they were all struggling to cope with the pain. Their father attempted to find some sort of relief in alcohol, whereas all the kids tried to numb the pain in their own special ways.
This memoir would encourage general readers to extend as much support as they can to anybody who is grieving. On the other hand, We Lost Her would encourage the grievers to find an outlet for their pain. The author and her siblings did not grieve openly and kept all their emotions bottled up. This act changed their personalities. Fortunately, they managed to find their way back to their true selves. Of course, this transformation did not happen overnight, but their faith in God gradually healed their wounds. We Lost Her by Ellen Krohne is an inspiration to all of us. It does not promise to provide any magic potion that would eliminate all your sufferings; instead, it acts as a helping hand that guides us to find a healthy way to deal with pain. Losing somebody we love opens our eyes to the fragility of life. Knowing that once a loved one is gone he/she cannot come back teaches us to express our emotions whenever we get a chance because we might not get another.
The author has included several ways in which we can help someone who has lost a loved one and, also, the path that a griever may follow to find peace. Of course, she admits that every griever is different and one thing that helped someone may be useless to the other; however, it is very important to find a healthy outlet and not go into a self-destruction mode. I appreciate the author's intention and would recommend this book to people who are either grieving or trying to help someone get over the loss of someone close to them.
