In April 2000, Connie and I met a woman named Elizabeth Lesser at a seminar in New York City. It was shortly after we lost Eric and we were desperately searching for a path forward through the darkness. Her presentation provided us the language we needed to begin as well as a road map through what she called "The Landscape of Death". We stayed in touch and around 4 years ago she called to tell me about a book she was writing titled "Broken Open". She asked if we would consider her using our experiences in the book. She presented it as an opportunity to honor Eric's memory and in that light I wrote a story called "Before and After" which she included in the book. It was published by Random House. End of story... or so we thought until a few days ago.
Last week we were contacted by producers from the Oprah Winfrey Show. They are doing a show on the book and wanted to speak with us. On Sunday a 4 person production crew showed up in Saint Simon's Island and filmed us for 10 hours. Tonight we have been invited to fly to Chicago on Wednesday for a Thursday taping. The show will be broadcast some time in the first week of January, perhaps January 5th.
We have gone back and forth about this "opportunity". We are private people and do not want to be exploited or sensationalized as TV sometime does. Yet, this seems like an opportunity to not only honor Eric's life, but to perhaps help people who find themselves "in the fire" after the loss of a loved one. We have decided to take the risk and to share some of the tools that helped us survive and go forward as a family. It is somewhat daunting to say the least, but we will do our best. We feel like we have a responsibility to "pay forward" all the love and support provided by our family and friends. If this helps even one family who feels that the pain will never stop then it will be worth it.We will keep you posted on the blog as things develop. Keep us in your prayers...
Glen & Connie
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