Recently Read: Two Kisses for Maddy

I started reading Matt Logelin's blog (matt, liz and madeline) shortly after his wife died only one day after giving birth to their daughter. It was nearly three years after the unexpected death of my father in a house fire, and while I had the support of TheHusband and many great friends to help me with my grief I was still drawn to see how others dealt with the grief of unexpectedly losing someone they loved. I was also drawn to his story because Matt & Liz were both from Minnesota.

When his book came out, I thought I wouldn't be buying it because I "knew" the story. I had been reading the blog nearly since the beginning (three years) after all. I'm not sure why I changed my mind about buying the book, but I'm sure glad I did. The book not only memorializes the life Matt and Liz shared, it follows his journey through the grief of losing his wife and the joy of being a new parent. It also shows how a bunch of strangers became a community and how that community helped change one man's grief into hope for others (in the form of the Liz Logelin Foundation).

This is not a "how to survive your grief" book, or even a "how to help someone else through their grief" book. It's just the story of one man, his grief, and his joy, so that his daughter may know her mother and also know how much he loves them both.

Rating: A

These opinions are entirely my own. Neither the author nor his publishing company even know I exist.