I have purchased or been given over 30 different books on grief and loss since losing Rhett.
Funny thing is, it was extremely difficult to read for the first two years after our tragedy...my broken heart simply could not focus.
Of course, there were some nuggets of truth and hope in many of those books, but nothing has EVER spoken to me like this book.
Just the audacity of the title “More Beautiful than Before” would have infuriated me for the first three years of this awful journey, and I still cannot come into agreement with the idea that my life without Rhett can ever be more beautiful than before.
But...
Maybe my heart can be more beautiful than before?
Maybe my compassion for people who are hurting can be more beautiful than before?
Maybe my love walk can be more beautiful than before?
Maybe my relationship with Jesus can be more beautiful than before?
If you have ever lost anything of value, this book is for you. Whether it was a job, a marriage, a spouse, a parent, a child, your health, a friend, or your reputation.
The crux of this book is this:
Don’t walk through hell and come out empty handed.
I would be cautious about giving this book to a newly bereaved person simply because the title is too bold for a newly broken heart.
My advice would be for you to read it and learn how to meet them in their loss.
This book is water for a thirsty soul.
*After reading “More Beautiful than Before” in October of 2019, I contacted Steve Leder via email and was so moved when he wrote these kind words back to me:
Dear Lorna,
If no one on earth other than you had found my book, it would have been enough. To know that More Beautiful Than Before; How Suffering Transforms Us, eased your pain and gave some meaning to your suffering so that it became something more than mere suffering, is everything. I have printed your message out so that I think of you and your love for Rhett every day. There is a Jewish expression that is said whenever we speak the name of a loved one who has died. We say "May his memory be a blessing." Keep making Rhett's memory a blessing.
With Love,
Steve Leder
