When Evalyn died, one of our main concerns was helping Ieuan (who was four years old at the time) try to understand what had happened and to manage his grief in the most gentle of ways.

At the time, he loved to read and one day my mum came home from the library with a pile of books written for children who were grieving.

But I couldn’t read them to him. They didn’t fit the narrative of our family dialogue.

Falling into a ‘forever sleep’ wasn’t how we explained death. Nor had Evalyn had the chance to grow old and live a long and contented life…..

So, I started writing my own stories and poems which I would read to him. Instead of focusing on the sadness, I wrote of the light. Of how love carries on. Of the beautiful ways people stay with us long after the last goodbye. And one day, I told myself, I would finally put pen to paper and publish the book I always wished to find on the library shelf back when we needed it the most…

The book I can read to both her siblings despite their different yet shared experiences of grief. The book I wished had been waiting for me in my daughter’s memory box. Or the book I could (and now can) add to it myself with love. The book I wished I could give to a grieving heart when my own words failed me. The book I longed for when I needed comfort and to know I wasn’t alone ….

It’s been seven long years since Evalyn died, but after months of writing and rewriting and back and forths between my amazing illlustrator, Gill, it’s finally happened!

“The Places We Meet”, my first book and a huge piece of my heart, is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can follow the link here.

And as always, I am sending light, love and support to you all.

Lyndsey