Garden of Grief: Cultivating New Life After Loss

by Lori Koidahl

Overview

Comforting words and inspirational ideas for living a new life after loss

Lori's sudden and traumatic loss of her mother sent her into a deep grief she'd never experienced and didn't know how to manage.

In Garden of Grief, Koidahl offers readers a look into her busy life as a mom and how losing her own mother and becoming a midlife orphan became a catalyst for rebirth and navigating the world in a new way. She encourages and supports others in their journeys through loss by sharing her own evolution of love, loss, and self-discovery during the most vulnerable time in her life.

Koidahl is familiar with grief and the sudden loss of loved ones. Her mother, father, and uncle all died in car crashes. Her father; before she was born, when he fell asleep at the wheel, her uncle when she was 13 by a distracted driver, and her mother was hit in a crosswalk by a red light runner.

As you turn the pages of this book you may:
Be shown a path forward
Experience encouragement, hope, and healing
See how opening your heart can shift pain and suffering
How honoring your feelings can help you through grief
Read stories that make you laugh, cry and take action
Encounter personal transformation in spite of pain
Discover you want to share your story

Each chapter opens with an inspirational quote, setting the stage for the chapter's quintessence, which highlights an area of deep reflection and learning. In just a few minutes you’ll read how Koidahl's writing style feels like a dear friend whose story is inspiring and makes you realize life is truly too precious to waste.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940164111939
Publisher:	Lori Koidahl
Publication date:	06/19/2020
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	869 KB

About the Author

Garden of Grief – Cultivating New Life After Loss is Lori Koidahl’s debut book. A native Washingtonian, Lori is a graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Political Science. She lives in the suburb of Shoreline, where she enjoys its picturesque Puget Sound beauty and works full time as a program management consultant in the technology industry. When she’s not working, Lori can be found hiking, listening to live music, dancing, spending time with her family and friends, and tending to her garden. She is the mother of two grown sons, a lover of music, comedy, chocolate, and animals.

Editorial Reviews

"In this lovingly communicated story, Lori shares moving and meaningful lessons from the journey through her grief with the hope that the actions she took, the love she found, and the ultimate peace that came to her will be of support to others."

-Jean Weiss, Writer and Contributing Editor, Forbes, Yoga Journal, Outside, and other publications

"Lori's story is all too common, a loved one taken in an avoidable crash. Motorists run red lights every day and don't give a second thought to the potential for catastrophic consequences. Lori's heartfelt healing journey offers wise words of encouragement for anyone seeking solace from grief."

-Maria Wojtczak, Board Member, The Red Means Stop Traffic Safety Alliance, and Owner, DrivingMBA

"Garden of Grief is a lovely book for those experiencing loss or facing end-of-life. When author Lori Koidahl lost her Mom, her best friend, in a tragic accident, Lori's life changed forever. Lori kept a journal where she captured her grief and now shares her process along with precious memories in this beautiful new memoir. Lori's book offers ideas for others who are in the throes of grief (really not just around death but any sort of loss) as she shares how she has cultivated a new life while maintaining a deep soulful connection with her mother. As a hospice worker, I will be adding this book to my collection to share with families and others within the healing circles. Wonderful book - beautiful inside and out!"

-Ruthie Stender, author of The Eight Aspects of God

"In this beautifully written book you will come to know Lori Koidahl as a fierce survivor advocate for roadway tragedy. Lori has not allowed her grief to lead her down a path of destruction but steer her on a road to recovery. Along her journey she has and will continue to inspire others to make better choices on our roadways. Grief is a life long process that will never go away, we just learn how to manage it in our individual lives. Lori's book outlines her individual coping methods that are universal to anyone grieving. Lori is a gifted writer, encourager and effectively demonstrates that "action can be the antidote to despair."

-Melissa Wandall, President of the National Coalition for Safer Roads, Speaker, Advocate, Consultant Spokesperson

From the Publisher

2022-09-01
A guide to understanding and navigating a way through grief that leads to renewed appreciation for the joys of the present.

Koidahl was the 37-year-old mother of two young boys when, in 2007, her mother was killed by a car running a red light. Mother and daughter had been especially close. Koidahl’s father died after a car accident before she was born, and she grew up a single child raised by a single parent. Incredibly, her mother’s brother, Rick, had also died in an automobile accident. But this, Koidahl explains, was the first time she knew grief as an adult, and it was an experience she describes as “soul-crushing.” The first weeks after the accident were busy, with Koidahl responsible for all those things that must be attended to after a death. “Getting stuff done” had always been within her comfort zone. When it came time for her to return to work, however, she decided she needed a reset. “I am not one to run or hide from my feelings,” she writes, “so I didn’t want to distract myself. I wanted to feel it. I wanted to heal.” She began journaling, committing to paper her feelings, activities, and observations. Years later, when she sat down to write this book, the journals provided insight into a personal grieving process that led her to reevaluate her life’s focus. Although her subject is painful, Koidahl writes with buoyancy and determination. It’s a quality not often found in books on mourning. She shares loving memories of her mother as well as the actions taken and lessons learned along the road to recovery: “I have become more intentional about my thoughts, how I spend my time, and what I put my attention to.” This is less a how-to manual than a compassionate expression of encouragement and advice to be open to life’s inevitable changes and surprises.

A pleasantly presented, supportive addition to the literature of bereavement.

Kirkus Reviews