My Grief Is Not Like Yours

“Theo is so honest with us that sometimes I almost didn’t want her to be because the details were so unimaginable. However, without each descriptive picture that she paints, the story wouldn’t be genuine and true. If there is anything that Theo is, it’s true. Joe Bob, Sue, and the Lord prepared Theo for the hand that she was to be dealt.  The lessons she learned from her parents showed her how to live and love well . . . show up, be present for others even when it’s yucky, even when we are the yucky. I can’t wait to meet Sue and Joe Bob when I get to Heaven! I only hope the Lord lets Sue fix us some peanut brittle, and I bet Joe Bob is growing the peanuts.”    

“When I read the book and heard her voice, it was like I was hearing the lyrics to a Grammy Award-winning song. Her country ‘voice’ turns these heavy topics into an uplifting, hope-filled testimonial. She invites us to join in the revelations as she helps us know we can feel love and light after grief. We can do it!”

“Theo’s journey reminds us all that life is not fair. It can be very hard, but we have to go on because we must. Many of us have lost our parents to the inevitability of death, but not the way Theo did. Her mother dies in a tragic farm accident, her marriage crumbles, and then her dad ends his life. I love Theo’s story because I love Theo. And how can you not love someone who loves their dog?”

“Like grief, agriculture is unique to each farm and family. Agriculture has major stresses and risks both monetarily and physically. She shares her story of her family’s farm accident and the effects of grief and stress afterward. It takes great courage to open up and share such a personal journey as Theo has. Hopefully this will encourage others to be able to share and ask for help.”          

“‘By sharing, we belong, and by belonging we can share.’ In this memoir, Theo does not hold back. Her vulnerability is palpable on every page. I found nuggets of wisdom in every chapter and have my annotations to prove it. With her words, I laughed, I cried, and I found my own healing as I remembered walking through grief in my own life. I hope others who read this book experience the same. As the title suggests, no two people grieve the same way. Yet I find it interesting how in reading one’s account of their grief, another can find healing. Their experiences are not the same, yet they have a connection. I think that’s beautiful.”