IF YOU CAN’T FIND THE WORDS – READ TO THEM. BY MEGAN LORD
BOOK MOM A little bit of everything from a scatter-brained, book-loving Mom.
ABOUT THE COLUMNIST
I am the mother of an adventurous and exhausting but amazing toddler boy that runs my life. I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading mind numbing children’s books over and over again because he has his select favorites… But when I do get time to read (or listen) I love reading and listening to a variety of genres. I get the most time to indulge in books of my choice during what I like to call “wind-down baths” once a week.
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OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021
I know this issue is focused on Global Authors and Books – but I’m going to get a little more personal with you readers this time around – death/loss. A very good friend of mine lost their 6-year-old son early July of this year. It was unexpected with a 4 day stay in the hospital in a medically induced coma before the ultimate heartbreak. By day 2, my friend was at a loss for words. She wanted to keep talking to him, but she didn’t know what else to say. So, she asked me to bring some books to the hospital that she could read to him. Knowing I have a 4-year-old son with similar interests, she knew I would be able to send some of my son’s books on topics like dinosaurs and science. Choosing the books was so hard knowing the circumstance but sharing books with them was the least we could do. I was happy to be able to do just anything to help. When you can’t find words but need to fill silence – read. My family has experienced a lot of loss in the past 3 years – meaning my son had experienced it all with us. We lost my grandfather, a huge part of mine and therefor my sons’ life, late 2018. During the unforgettable year of 2020, we lost our family cat, Donald Driver, my son’s favorite animal in the entire world, very unexpectedly. We lost my grandmother that summer, and then we lost a close cousin, again very unexpectedly, that fall. We followed this rough year with one of the hardest losses of them all, young, sweet Finley, in 2021. In order to help my son process and understand the loss of my grandpa whom he was very close with – we