Book Description

At age four, author Jennifer Martins son, Kelly, was diagnosed with a rare inherited metabolic disorder, mucopolysaccharidosis, or MPS, which caused multiple complications throughout his life. He lived until the age of twenty-three, when he died of a sudden heart attack. In Star Child, Martin offers a poignant look at her bittersweet healing journey following her sons death. Martins heartfelt expressions in Star Child celebrate Kellys brief life and give grieving parents solace and support, allowing healing to begin. Star Child includes stories and poems that complement my writing. Each story and each poem were specifically chosen to be included because of their beauty, eloquence, grace, and power. The authors and poets featured here offer a sacred communion with their words, hearts, and the deep understanding of loss, pain, and love. Their words and sentiments echo a familiar song to my broken heart. Different stories, different wordsdifferent but, in the end, the same. In the words of Queen Elizabeth II, Grief is the price we pay for love. Jennifer Martin Praise for Star Child Star Child: A Mothers Journey through Grief, by Jennifer Martin, is a beautifully crafted tribute to a young sons life and death, which lands in the heart gently, like a feather from an angels wing. Maria Housden, author, Hannahs Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived Star Child is a beautifully told story. Jennifer Martin has managed to speak of her deep loss without sentimentality. Instead, she creates space for the universal elements of loss and grief to find expression. Through her words, the tearing apart of one mothers heart moves toward a fierce resolve to find the deeper meanings in love and life. In grief, she writes, Something expands and contracts inside of you. It is a wise image. Then she submits her own pain to the expansion. Paula DArcy, founder, Red Bird Foundation; author, Song for Sarah: A Mothers Journey through Grief and Beyond and When Darkness Unfolds as Light