Top 10 Best "A Mother's Story" Books

A Mother's Story

I was reading my e-mail on a typical day when I received an internet order that changed my life.

On the order form, I ask the buyer to tell me how they heard of the book, because that tells me which portion of my marketing efforts are being effective. Usually, I get a word or two like 'Friend' or 'Google' or something terse like that.

This day, a woman wrote me a desperate letter in that little space, pleading with me to e-mail her more of the book because she NEEDED it. She wanted me to send the book in overnight mail and she'd pay anything it took to have that happen. She proceeded to tell me why she was so anxious to read the rest of the book. I don't remember this woman's name, but I do remember her angel's name: Tara. Tara had been killed 18 months prior to the date of this e-mail and her mother was suffering mass denial. In fact, as she was telling me the story of Tara's accident, she told me that I was the first person she was able to say this to. . .

To have someone tell you something that important was so humbling. I was so honored. I was so shook at the significance of this event. I cried for four hours straight. When I got myself back together, I e-mailed her the chapters and fed-exed her the book and wrote her an e-mail asking her to tell me more about Tara. She told me about her beautiful daughter and how hard the reality of her leaving had been on her, but when she 'accidentally' stumbled across my book on the web earlier that day, she'd felt Tara with her. She started to read it and when the angels spoke in the book, she felt like Tara was telling her the same things. She read until there was no more left to read, cried and cried but finally felt some relief.

She told me that everyday since Tara's death, she would find a shiny penny somewhere. She said that she might be cleaning a counter, and just have wiped it clean, then she'd turn away for just a moment and when she turned back, there was a penny. She knew it was a gift from Tara. When this happened, I was at a crossroads in my life too. I had to choose whether to follow my dream of promoting this book and learning the publishing business so I could do it more effectively or going back into programming computers - which I had done for 20+ years. I had a family to support, but Angel On Board as a dream called to me and was very important to me.

One day, when I had to make the decision to quit that high paying computer programming career and take a lesser paying job with a publisher, I asked for a sign. I turned around, and there on my freshly swept kitchen floor was a shiny new penny. Tara was on my side. I knew this was what I had to do. So, I followed my dream and now here I am, I've owned my own publishing company for 7 years.

Thanks Tara and thank you Tara's mom for sharing her with me. ~EJ

Ninety-eight thousand people die every year from medical errors, making it a leading cause of death in the United States, but the subject has long been taboo. All that changed with Josie. Sorrel King's eighteen-month-old daughter was badly burned by a faulty water heater in the family's new home, but was taken to the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she made a remarkable recovery. But as she was preparing to leave, the hospital's system of communication broke down and Josie was given a fatal shot of methadone, sending her into cardiac arrest. Within forty-eight hours, the King family went from planning a homecoming to planning a funeral. Dizzy with grief and close to ending her marriage, Sorrel slowly pulled herself and her life back together. Accepting Hopkins' settlement, she and her husband established the Josie King Foundation. They began to implement basic programs in hospitals emphasizing communication between patients, family, and medical staff—practices which can now be found in hospitals around the country. The account of one woman's unlikely path from full-time mom to nationally renowned patient advocate, Josie's Story is the inspirational chronicle of how a mother—and her unforgettable daughter—are transforming the face of American medicine.