The Dragonfly Spirit
A mother’s journey of learning about death, life, and the road back to Peace
After her twenty-year-old daughter dies in an automobile accident, the author finds herself on a journey of grief that, until then, she could not even imagine. As she travels down this path, that has been determined for her, she learns about death and its effect on her life and the lives of others she loves.
This is a story about learning to grow and cope despite great loss. It’s also about opening the heart and mind to possibilities for healing and growth. Tools to understand the process and deal with the tragedy of loss are offered for the grieving and their loved ones.
This is not a story about death. It’s about trying to understand death, and how it affects our lives. It’s about a journey that no parent chooses to take. It’s about learning to live life to its fullest while searching for Peace.
Reviews
Title: The Dragonfly Spirit
Subtitle: A mother’s journey of learning about death, life, and the road back to Peace
Author: Susan Brunell
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1546222736
Pages: 220
Genre: Inspirational Spirituality / Memoirs / Non-fiction
Reviewer: Tony Espinoza
Pacific Book Review
There may be no greater hurdle in life to contend with than death. Death touches everyone and everything, from the people who lose their lives and leave the Earth and
those they love behind, to those left behind who must cope with the loss of a loved one and grieve for that loss, to the everyday people who feel the loss of that person through the loss of everyday actions that person took. Death is a constant and is as important to the balance of all things as life is. Understanding and coping with these kinds of tragic losses is the driving force behind author Susan Brunell’s The Dragonfly Spirit. The book is a collection of stories and essays collected by the author, delving into her life and her history of confronting death and loss, as well as living life. From building her family to experiencing the greatest loss a parent could ever be forced to face and learning to find a way forward years later, the author shares the experiences and lessons she learned from her loss, and the ways in which we continue to connect with those lost loved ones even in death. The author found a way of both educating and moving readers on a deep, emotional level invoking the sense of loss, and love a parent is presented with in the wake of such a tragic event. The honesty and emotion the author poured into each chapter, not only in the main loss that the book covers but in all the losses of her life, from grandparents and her father to good friends as well, speaks to the insight and experiences the author collected over her life, and the relatability of the author’s story will greatly resonate with readers. The insightful and quick-paced style of writing will strike a heavy note with readers as they delve further and further into the author’s stories. For any readers who are drawn to non-fiction reads, especially memoir style storytelling with a spiritual twist, and books which deal with grief and loss, this book will stand out in the most necessary and important ways. The author greatly touched upon the indescribable heartbreak and terrible emotional journey through loss their daughter’s passing had on not only herself but her family as well, but what stood out was the moments of clarity, survival, and finally the peace found in that journey, as well as the connection the author was able to maintain with her lost daughter in the years that followed. It speaks of an emotional and spiritual experience few should ever have to experience. It also showcases the power of the clarity they found, and while acknowledging the ways in which everyone’s grieving journey can be different, these experiences could help so many who feel lost on their journey.
This moving memoir is not only a story of survival but also a testament to the resilience of love and the quiet wisdom found in unexpected places, like the delicate wings of a dragonfly. The Dragonfly Spirit offers comfort and inspiration to all who grieve and to all who love.
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The Dragonfly Spirit: A Mother’s Journey of Learning about Death, Life, and the Road Back to Peace
by Susan Brunell
AuthorHouse
book review by Priscilla Estes
“This is a story about learning to grow and cope despite great loss.”
When Brunell’s younger daughter, twenty-year-old Megan, died in an automobile accident on a rainy bridge, Brunell was planning her second wedding and the birth of her first grandchild. Within twenty-four hours, she catapulted from ecstasy to complete devastation. Ten years later, Brunell penned this journey “to help others find peace.”
Brunell approaches tragedy uniquely by easing into the subject of death. She traces her losses, starting with the family dog when she was three years old. She was five when her grandfather died, but death didn’t scare her because she felt his spirit and knew he was in heaven. John F. Kennedy died when she was in fourth grade, followed by her friends and her father. Each time, Brunell was unusually sensitive to their passing, and this spirituality brought her comfort. As part of coping, she suggests being unafraid of losing loved ones because the more friends and family one has, and the longer one lives, the more people one loses.
With gentle language and helpful examples from her own life, Brunell advises that when death does happen, the best course is to “Pull yourself together before it’s too late.” There is a difference between grieving and mourning: grief is sad, but mourning is deeper, more intense, lasts longer, and is perfectly normal. No two people experience loss the same, but attending support groups for parents who have lost children, as well as sessions with psychics, helped the author immensely. She shares details of these in loving, straightforward prose. Especially poignant is her realization that senior citizens are a particularly vulnerable population because they experience much loss. With great empathy and instruction, Brunell urges readers not to fight death but to accept it, moving on to the next step, while accepting the signs the dead share from beyond.