Through a series of poignant poems and reflections, author Larada Horner-Miller celebrates her parents’ legacies, mourns their deaths, and offers words of comfort and inspiration for others who face grief in their lives.
Awards
- 2018 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards “Finalist” in 2 categories: E-book Nonfiction and E-book Cover
- 2018 Book Excellence Awards “Finalist” in the Memoir category
- 2018 Independent Press Awards “Distinguished Favorites” in the Memoir category
- 2017 New Apple Book Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing ”Official Selection” in the Biography|Autobiography|Memoir category
- 2017 New Mexico-Arizona book awards “Finalist” in 2 categories: Biography (Other) and E-book Nonfiction
About This Book
When Larada Horner-Miller’s father died in 1996, her mother told her, “Everyone grieves in their own way.”
Horner-Miller took these words to heart when her mother passed away in 2013. She discovered that writing poetry was the best way of working through her fresh grief. Eventually she penned dozens of intimate, heartfelt poems about her parents’ lives and legacies and her deep sorrow and gradual recovery. Now she has gathered those verses into her first collection, A Time to Grow Up.
Horner-Miller discusses the emotional challenges of caring for her parents at the end of their lives. Her words will strike a chord with any worried caretaker or child watching over ailing but fiercely independent loved ones.
As Horner-Miller explores the nuances of bereavement through her poetry, she provides inspiration and comfort for readers coping with the same burdens. While many of her poems explore the depths of her anguish, others exude humor and warmth—a reminder that there is still always light in the world.
Besides her poems, Horner-Miller includes biographical sketches about her mother and her father, as well as appendices that provide coping tips, suggested activities, and resources for others dealing with intense bereavement.
Review
A Time To Grow Up: A Daughter’s Grief Memoir by Larada Horner-Miller is a heartrending and poignant tale of grief, recovery, and healing. Grief is personal and, as the author’s mother tells her, everyone has their own way of handling grief. She takes her mother’s words to heart when her mother passes away and tells readers how she channeled her grief through writing poetry. She shares her poems with readers through this memoir. Her words will provide comfort, peace, and inspiration to many readers who are undergoing grief, personal sorrow, and recovery. The memoir speaks about the emotional challenges and will strike a chord with and give hope to readers and make them realize, as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow put it: “Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining.”
I like the way the author has opened up about her life and shared her personal story without holding back anything. Her grief is palpable and her approach to grief and living will encourage many to handle the emotional challenges they face in a graceful and mature way. Readers feel her pain yet at the same time connect with the close bond she shared with her mother. The question and answer session at the end of the book is excellent when it comes to taking a look at how grief has been handled by readers who have experienced it, and also how to go through the grieving process in a mature and dignified manner.
— Mamta Madhavan; READER’S CHOICE – 4 STARS