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As the title suggests, Parent has experienced excruciating heartbreak—not once, but twice in an eerily similar fashion. However, the author’s book is hardly a woe-is-me piece. On the contrary, Parent’s work is a testament to walking in faith and building resilience to tackle any possibility. After his first wife of thirty-five years, Virginia Allen, then his second wife of seventeen years, Rosanna Gibson, pass from ovarian cancer, Parent leans on writing as a therapeutic outlet to find meaning and understand the complexity of his emotions brewing within.
There is a profoundness in Parent’s simplicity, an honest concern for those who are afflicted with tragedy. By internalizing the negatives into positives, and truly believing in practices such as cherishing memories and committing to family, he feels harmony can be restored in life. For his audience, Parent provides a section on these positives at the end of each chapter. This simplicity, nevertheless, makes sections like “The Finals Months” and “The Final Weeks” extremely tearful and agonizing to read. To reflect on arguably the most difficult time in life and still be objective enough to write about it is nothing short of remarkable.
Though the poetry aspect of Parent’s piece does not follow any particular structure or rhyme scheme, that is not his intent. Instead, the poetry reveals Parent’s thought process during tragedy, whether it is the repetition of “I will Aspire” in “Aspirations,” or using the caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly as a metaphor for being freed from the pain of the material body. Perhaps the eeriest and most symbolic imagery is the turtle walking on a deserted road, arguably a stirring symbol of faith. For those who have experienced loss, sometimes unimaginable loss, Parent’s work is a ray of hope amid the grief.