2007 was the beginning of a huge transformation for me.  I had hurt my back, ‘the curse of the nurse’ as we call it in the profession.  I was sitting on the couch sort of drifting when I had a vision and then the words came tumbling out as “Little Star” the children’s book was born.  It was and still is everything I believe about God, the bonds of love and death.

It took three years for it to finally manifest in this realm.  The illustrator whose work was painstakingly beautiful was diagnosed with a rare form of back cancer. She endured radiation and extensive surgery all the while bringing my words to life.

Even before “Little Star” took book form I was asked by a friend to share it with a little girl whose father was on hospice and dying.  I gave a copy of the manuscript to the family and they read it together.  Later I was told it opened the door to that hard conversation that this little girl so desperately needed to have with her parents.

In 2009 my youngest developed viral meningitis and encephalitis during which he was in a constant state of seizing for days.  I was certain he had left his body enjoying the astral planes.  The doctors were certain he might die but he returned and his first words were, “Mom, I love you!” (I cried) and his second were, “Wow, I didn’t know how important ‘Little Star’ was.”  This floored me and I realized it was a project that had to be finished.

We decided to self publish after being rejected by close to fifty traditional publishers, mostly because our story contained the “G” word, God was not fashionable in the publishing world. The book arrived from the printer on the anniversary of my father’s death, which was deeply significant to me.  He had always said I would be either a teacher or a writer.

I was so excited I promptly sent copies to my family members.  A few days later my beloved uncle passed away unexpectedly, leaving his family in a state of shock.  I was grateful to hear that “Little Star” had provided some comfort to his grandchildren and their understanding of death; they would look up into the night sky and point out my uncle as the brightest star.  That in itself was enough.

Last Christmas my eldest son with the help of a friend transformed “Little Star” into eBook format. It was a most excellent gift. She is now available in all eBook formats, Kindle, Nook and Apple.

She is worth the read, she has a message of love and hope, and we can all use more of that in our lives