Book Title: The Collision of Grief and Gratitude: A Pursuit of Sacred Light
Author: Rosanne Liesveld
Category: Adult Non-fiction, 468 pages
Genre: Self-Help, Death & Grief, Grief & Bereavement
Publisher: Illuminatio Press
Release date: May 16, 2017
Tour dates: July 16 to Aug 10, 2018
Content Rating: PG (The subject of loss is explored and some of the emotions may be too raw for young children.)
Book Description:
Day 209
"And so each day goes; the grief and the gratitude fighting for the bigger spot in my heart. The tug of war between these emotions exhausts me most days. If you see me in the grief mode, you'll think I'm a wreck. But if you see me in gratitude mode, you'll think I m doing well. Neither is 100 percent true. I am what I am most days, leaning toward finding more gratitude than grief as the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months."
After the unexpected death of her husband, Rosanne Liesveld felt a desperate need to communicate gratitude to those who helped her through the shock that death left in its wake. The day of Curt's funeral, Rosanne wrote a Facebook post expressing how, in the midst of profound grief, she found a space in her heart for gratitude. The next day, she wrote another post; then another.
Rosanne's daily posts throughout her first year of widowhood attracted hundreds to follow along on her journey. Her words inspired those who were not only grieving in some way, but those who wanted to build stronger relationships or live life with more intention and gratitude. It was messy. It was raw. And it was healing.
Rosanne's posts have been compiled into this 366-day journey and are accompanied by beautiful photos taken by Curt.
To follow the tour, please visit Rosanne Liesveld's page on iRead Book Tours.
Buy the Book:
Meet the Author:
As a coach and teacher for more than thirty years with the Gallup Organization, Rosanne has helped people discover and lean into their strengths. She now speaks to groups about how to build stronger relationships, and live life with more intention and gratitude.
Connect with the author: Facebook
Q and A with Rosanne Liesveld
The Collision of Grief and Gratitude
Rosanne Liesveld is the author of The Collision of Grief and Gratitude. After the unexpected death of her husband, she felt a desperate need to communicate gratitude to those who helped her through the shock his death left in its wake. A few days after Curt’s funeral, Rosanne wrote a Facebook post expressing how, in the midst of profound grief, she found a space in heart for gratitude. The next day she wrote another post, and then another.
Rosanne’s daily posts throughout her first year of widowhood inspired not only those who were grieving in some way, but those who wanted to build stronger relationships and life live with more intention and gratitude. It was messy. It was raw. It was healing.
Today she answers some of our questions.
Q: What were your fears about writing a book? What were the risks?
A: Putting my writing into a book had far more risks than I ever imagined. Of course, there is always a financial and time investment, and I underestimated both of those! But even more was the emotional risk. I was so fearful of what I thought people might think of me. I was afraid people would think I did this to make money from the death of my husband. Or to get my name out there. Or that I’d be judged for being too public with my feelings. I heard many people intimate that even as I wrote the posts, so I was even more paranoid about putting them into a book. At some point, I had to get over all those things, yet I’m not sure I really have.
Q: What was the editing/publishing process like?
A: As I noted before, the decision to publish a book was scary and risky. I worried about the content being over-editing and losing the rawness and emotion that people connected with. I’m a very visual person so the look and feel of the book was very important to me. I had to advocate for those things throughout the process.
Q: How did you decide what pictures to use in the book?
A: Selecting the photos was a very emotional process. Curt was a great photographer, and I felt like including his work was a way to honor him. I used his photographs to introduce every month, but I also used other photographs to make the posts personal, just as I had done originally on Facebook. I debated about including pictures. There is even a picture of a broken toilet. I wanted the book to remain true and authentic to the original nature of the posts and intention of my writing.
Q: Your mom wrote a column for your community newspaper. What did you learn from her about writing and expressing your opinion?
A: My mom was a teacher before she was married and had children. In those days, women were not permitted to teach after they had children and my mom always missed her role as a teacher. Much later in life, she worked for a small newspaper and had the opportunity to write a couple different columns. She had a natural talent for writing and I saw her come to life when she got that opportunity to write again. She had a lot of freedom about what to write and I was well aware how her values influenced her writing. So, yes, I’m sure her writing had an impact on me.
Q: You were a teacher and then worked with teachers at Gallup. Talk about the importance of teachers.
A: Teachers have the most important jobs in the world. When you consider what our society would be without teachers, it is almost unthinkable. And that’s just considering the role teachers play in imparting information and teaching students the how-tos of each subject. Even more important is what they do to impact the soul of the student. The influence of a good teacher is far reaching and can have profound impact. We need to invest in great teachers. My passion is also about being sure we have the best teachers in this country for our children.
Q: You were married for forty-three years. What is the best piece of advice you can give young married couples? What about young parents?
A: Wow, that’s a big question. I could probably write a whole book on that! Perhaps the biggest advice for young married couple is to go the second mile for each other. That may not be such popular advice, but practicing selfless love is what is needed early on in marriage. It’s hard to go from being single and independent to sharing life with another person, and our tendencies are to still think of what we want and need for only for ourselves. Surprising your spouse by doing even more, by loving even more, by forgiving even more, early on in the marriage will help build a strong foundation for later.
As a young parent, I’d say the way you make the most difference for your child is to be the best spouse you can be. It seems women often start to replace their husbands with their children, both in time and affection. When your children see you and your spouse live out a beautiful relationship with each other and with the world, it likely has the most influence on them.
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Rosanne is available to chat with groups or book clubs either in person or via Zoom. Contact her at roseliesveld@gmail.com.
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends Aug 18, 2018
The reviews I've seen of this book place it right at the top of its genre. I'm sure it would provide many great insights, thanks for the chance to win a copy.
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