MSI Press Blog

  The second MSI book by Pat Young and the eleventh in our pandemic series, Exercising in a Pandemic , was released today.  See information about Pat's other book, Life after Losing a Child , HERE . 

Whether the death of a child was due to illness, accident, suicide or drug overdose, the pain is the same — an ache in your heart that won’t go away. Will your life ever be the same? Perhaps not, but as the interviews in this book reveal, you can go on to have a meaningful life. Trish Armor [previous chapter] dealt with her loss through a number of powerful methods. She started a local branch of a bereavement group called Compassionate Friends for other parents who had lost a child. She turned to her faith, a gift she said her daughter had given her, and most significantly for her, Trish turned to Mindfulness. According to Mindful.org, Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present—aware of where we are and what we’re doing at the moment. Such an awareness, says Trish, can be hugely beneficial. “We tend to live in the past when losing a child and have a lot of negative thoughts,” she remarked. Forgiveness is another very important element in the process of co

From MidWest Book Review: Synopsis: "Compiled and co-presented by Pat Young and Joanna Romer, " Life after Losing a Child " tells the poignant stories of a dozen individuals who have suffered the loss of a child. and describes how they learned to heal. "Life after Losing a Child" shows readers who have suffered the loss of a loved on how to come to grips with the loss and handle the grief; how to engage in activities that help the healing process; and how to find the strength to move on. Critique: Exceptionally well organized and presented, "Life after Losing a Child" is especially recommended reading for anyone having to deal with the loss of a child -- as well as those wanting to know how they can help someone bereft and grieving the loss of a child. Simply stated, "Life after Losing a Child" should be a part of every community library collection in the country.

Holidays   If you’re a newly bereaved parent of a deceased child and you haven’t encountered a major holiday yet—say Thanksgiving or Christmas, be prepared for a shock. The holidays can bring home the extent of your loss in a way that nothing else can. Having recently lost a child, you might not be thinking about the holiday or how it will affect you. This is a mistake. It is better to face it in advance and decide how you will handle the holiday. Will you decorate for Christmas as you’ve always done? Will you go to a relative’s house and try to get through the whole thing as quickly as possible? Or will you close up shop and absent yourself from the holiday completely, traveling to Cancun, Key West, or a neighborhood motel, with or without your spouse? Paulette Jarnagin lost her son Keith in a drowning accident six months before Christmas. Paulette, who admits to “always going overboard” at Christmas, didn’t want to celebrate the holiday that year, but her family and fri

Congratulations to Pat Young, co-author with Joanna Romer of Life after Losing a Child , for the front-page article on their book in the Volusia News (Daytona Beach, Florida). Pat was interviewed earlier by MSI Blog. Check out her interview to learn more about her. Pat and Joanna's book is available in the MSI Press webstore; use FF25 for 25% dsicount. Click here to get to the book fast.  The book also available at all online retailers and some brick-and-mortar stores. A reasonable number of free review copies can be made available in exchange for writing and posting reviews. Contact editor@msipress.com to express your interest. Truly a helpful book for anyone who has experienced the tragedy of losing a child.

Name: Patricia Young Book: Life after Losing a Child   Date of Interview: August 5, 2018 Who are you? What do you want readers to know about you? Pat Young has written for the Daytona Beach News Journal, South Bend Tribune, Flint (Michigan) Journal, Clarkston (Michigan) News, New Mexico Magazine, Silver City (New Mexico) Life Magazine, and other publications. She earned numerous awards for her writing, including National Newspaper Association and Michigan Press Association awards. She earned two media awards while at the South Bend Tribune. One of her stories (Giant Wind Harp in Tune with Nature) in New Mexico Magazine was chosen for inclusion in SIRS Discoverer data bases. Why are you qualified to write this book? Pat, and her late co-author Joanna Romer, are both widows. Though neither has lost a child, both women understood the painful bereavement process one goes through after the loss of a loved one.   What is the message