Mourning and Dancing: A Memoir of Grief and Recovery

When we allow ourselves to mourn, we celebrate the dance, and, in our hearts, life keeps beating.

Robert Downham died on Wednesday, August 23, 1967, of Reticulum Cell Sarcoma. Three weeks before he died, he did not know he was sick. Nine days after diagnosis, he was dead. This is his story, and the story of Sally, his young wife and mother of his two young children, and all the others whose lives touched his life - and who had to go on living. It is about life and death and grief and the lessons that the survivors learned. This inspiring work chronicles Sally Miller's thirty-year journey of grief and recovery. A professional educator, Dr. Miller has constructed a book that leads readers through their grief as they read about hers. Along with her own moving story, Miller provides a framework that readers can use to identify and process their own grief. Mourning and Dancing is designed for people who are trying to cope with any loss, even if years have passed since the loss or losses occurred. Its format includes true-life stories of the author's family and individuals with whom she has walked through grief.

The vignette style of presentation allows the newly aggrieved to read the book in small doses, a key ingredient for healing. Written after thirty years of learning, this touching book will show readers how to incorporate loss into their lives, how to live with the pain, and how to have hope and heal as a result of that brave endeavor.