Recommended Reading for Widows

Highly Recommended: Seasons of Solace: A Story of Healing Through Photos and Poems by Janelle Shantz Hertzler

Janelle Shantz Hertzler was a young wife, mother, and teacher working alongside her husband in Thailand when on a summer morning, her life was shattered. While riding his motorcycle to a meeting, John, her husband, was hit head-on by a drunk driver and killed instantly. With her son, Janelle returned to the U.S. Two years later along a river bank, she noticed a small red leaf, dying but radiant. She was compelled to capture that image in a photograph and thus began her journey through grief to solace. Along the way she photographed images of nature that spoke to her and recorded her anger, her grief and her memories in poetry. Not a professional photographer or a poet, she brought to life the universal experience of grief and acceptance in ways that speak to anyone who has survived a devastating loss. Her pictures beautifully demonstrate the healing power of the natural world and her voice resonates with those who have embarked on a journey from death to life. She ends her book, “My view of life, fuller because of death.” Here is a book that comforts and inspires. Well worth reading. To learn more about Janelle, see www.journey-through-grief.com