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Saturday, May 3, 2014

Book Release . . .

 
I have been waiting for this day.
A friend of mine, a friend of many people in our area,
held her book signing and reading of her book
He Plays a Harp
at the Scolnik Healing Center
in Muskegon Michigan today.
  
 
Roberta F King
 
Image of Roberta F. King
 
Roberta F. King lives in Muskegon, Michigan and is the Vice President of
PR & Marketing at Grand Rapids Community Foundation.
Outside of her professional public relations writing, her articles and essays
have been published in Atticus Review, Brain, Child
: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers, The Boiler, Hippocampus,
Lifelines (the literary journal of The Geisel School
of Medicine at Dartmouth College)
and in The Rapidian.
 
He Plays a Harp is her first book.
She was Runner Up in the 1989 Mrs. Asparagus competition,
hosted by the National Asparagus Festival in Shelby, Michigan.
She holds a BA from Valparaiso University,
 an MS from Grand Valley State University
and is a student in the UCLA Extension Writing Program.
~
Roberta and Mike Miesch, are Noah's parents. 
Roberta has been working on He Plays a Harp for the past four years.
Mike created the art piece for the book.
~
On the book back cover . . .
 
In He Plays A Harp, stories and essays about Noah Miesch's life
are intermixed with pieces about his illness, death and
the after affect of his death on his parents and family. The life stories are lighthearted
and fun, but offer a view into the complexities of parenting a child with a disability. 
They include a shocking three day suspension from elementary school for pulling a fire alarm, therapeutic horseback riding lessons, the mysterious de-pantsing
of Noah in Appleton, Wisconsin, (possibly by Harry Houdini)
and a mom who read aloud to her son for seventeen years.
 
The illness, death and after-death pieces are written with an unsentimental
observer's eye, but with the intensity of maternal grief and unrealized dreams. 
The writing reflects on the scent of a few pieces of saved clothing,
a child's feet that never touched earth and the realization that there
is no word that describes parents who have lost a child. 
 
Boldly confronting the devastating  reality of a child's death, He Plays a Harp
offers honest writing that tells of the joy-filled years and pain-filled last days of a child's life and how two people take their beloved son-and themselves-to the other side, fearlessly. 
I have had the opportunity to read some of Roberta's
Life Stories and pieces that are included in the book
during the past few years. 
 
I purchased Roberta's book today,
came home and read the first part of the book,
Homestretch . . .
 
I can't put the book down but wanted to
quickly do this post so if any of you are interested you can
check out the sights below and better yet order the book
so you too can read it.
Please tell me if you do purchase/read the book
so we can visit together after.
 
I worked in the field of grief and loss for many years.
I have met many bereaved persons and heard
sadness, fear, devastation and much more..
He Plays a Harp is beautifully, tenderly written
and is touched with poignant truth and authenticity.
I consider it a
Must Read
 
Good Reads author page _ https://www.goodreads.com/robertafking
Amazon author page - https://www.amazon.com/author/robertafking
Book Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd3JRnCTOBE

Until next time,
Love, Lynne
~


10 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

oh, my. bless her! i hope her book can help others who face loss and grief and a strong love.

Pondside said...

What a project the book must have been and what a gift it will be to those walking that same path.

Nancy's Notes said...

Oh my, thank you for sharing this with us. An amazing woman and how wonderful that she'll be helping so many that have walked in her shoes.

babs said...

I couldn't put it down last night. It had me drawn in. I cried tears for all of them, even after I put it down for the night.....like kinda cried myself to sleep.

Beth said...

This sounds like a wonderful book. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

eileeninmd said...

Lynne, sounds like a wonderful book and a lovely story.. Congrats to your friend on her book release. Thanks for sharing. Have a happy Sunday!

Roberta F. King said...

Lynne,
Thank you for sharing my book with your community. It means a great deal to me to have your support and endorsement. It was good to see you yesterday and hopefully we can spend some time together this summer.
Roberta

Bonnie said...

Lynn, hank you for the recommendation. It sounds llike a book written from the heart...there is n better kind. Bonnie

Michelle said...

Thank you for the recommendation. Sounds like a very meaningful book.

amanda said...

Sounds like a powerful book, congrats and kudos to your friend for sharing her life in print to help others.

A girl who grew up in our small town just published her first novel, I've pre-ordered a copy which will arrive in a couple of weeks.
I just love to see people "doing" things. The world is full of inspiring people!