Inside the Gift of Goodbye is a new series of blog posts intended to share a little more about the story, and the story behind the story. Included below is a little background and introduction to the story.

One of the most frequent questions I hear is how long did it take to write the story and what tools did I use in the process. As a single mother, working full-time, the writing took a little longer than I had hoped, although the process was fulfilling and rewarding. It took me 10 years to finish the manuscript and sign with a publisher. I kept a journal as I was living through my divorce and while my mother was sick. My mother also kept journals. Writing in a journal started out as a way to process, a kind of form of therapy to help me heal, and later the content from both journals became the foundation for my story. About five years into starting and stopping, I created a blog with the hopes of staying committed to finishing the story, https://thepurplebutterflyblog.com/. While I didn’t really know what I was doing as I wrote each post, somehow people I didn’t know, from all over the world, found my blog and would leave comments, asking me to write more. Those readers helped me stay committed to finishing the first version of the story over a six month period. I then worked with an editor to finalize the manuscript and published July 2017 with She Writes Press. I am grateful to several authors who have published before me and were willing to read my story and provide a review. Here is one review, from Iris Waichler, award-winning author of Role Reversal: How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents:

“The heart of this book is the loving relationship she shares with her mother and family. Ms. Whitehead Munn candidly describes her personal struggle in coming to terms with this enormous loss. She explains agape love is a term that “gives life meaning and substance through voluntary sacrifice for the benefit of another person.” She relies on her faith, friendships, and family to face the challenges that come with some of life’s most difficult moments. This is her story of finding herself and sharing her most intimate conversations as she and her mother help each other learn how to say good bye. Readers will certainly be moved by her story and will take away ideas about how to cope with their own grief. This book is her gift of “agape love” to her readers.”

The Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love is available in Nashville, TN, at Parnassus Books and online.  Follow this link to see all online options:  https://rebeccawmunnauthor.com/the-gift-of-goodbye/