The Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love

by Rebecca Whitehead Munn MBA

Overview

Have you loved and lost before, yet struggled with how to recover and move forward? Are you looking for inspiration to give you strength to persevere? Have you faced the inevitable eternal rest of a parent, struggled with how to say good-bye? Have you questioned your faith and let fear take over in times of loss?
In The Gift of Goodbye, Rebecca Whitehead Munn relates how she drew strength from her faith and optimism as everything she knew to be constant in her life was changing. She inspires readers through her natural writing style to believe that they too can persevere and build resilience through the seasons of loss in life. Rebecca opens her heart on each page as she walks us through her story of living through two major life transitions within a three-year span, and the resulting shift she made in the process—due to the lasting gift of love from her now-deceased mother, her courage, and the choice she made to expand into more of who she was at her core.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631522307
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	07/18/2017
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Rebecca is a healthcare change agent and value creator, author and essayist. Her goal is to inspire others to be courageous and learn about their loved ones’ wishes, while creating life-long connections. Her debut memoir, The Gift of Goodbye: A Story of Agape Love, was released July 18, 2017. Kirkus Reviews says her memoir “tells of her own journey of self-discovery after learning of a parent’s terminal illness. Rather than give in to grief, she embarked on what she calls a 'heart-opening journey'―one that she deftly and intensely recounts in this memoir.” Rebecca launched The Gift of Goodbye to a standing-room-only audience at Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN and Book People, in Austin, TX. Rebecca has shared her story with audiences in senior living communities, including Westminster Manor, and local book clubs. Rebecca is also a guest essayist, including being featured on mariashriver.com and mindbodygreen.com. She earned a B.B.A. in marketing with a minor in psychology from the McCombs School of Business at the Universityof Texas at Austin, an executive M.B.A. from the Leeds School of Business at the Universityof Colorado, and in 2017, became a Nashville Healthcare Council Fellow. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her two teenage children, friends, and chocolate lab, Coco; practicing yoga, listening to live music, snow skiing, and playing golf. She was born in Bloomington, Indiana, grew up in Houston, Texas, and.has lived in Nashville, Tennessee since 2005.

Table of Contents

Dedication 5

Author's Note 7

Introduction 11

Chapter 1 Venturing into the Unknown 23

Chapter 2 Invincible Me 49

Chapter 3 Awakening 59

Chapter 4 A Passion for Learning 71

Chapter 5 Letting Go 83

Chapter 6 A New Chapter Unfolding 99

Chapter 7 Treasuring Each Moment 115

Chapter 8 Time Slipping Away 125

Chapter 9 A Celebration of Love 133

Chapter 10 A Symbol of Connection 149

Chapter 11 Transitions with Peace 161

Chapter 12 Learning to Cope 171

Epilogue: Pushing my Edges 185

Acknowledgments 193

About the Author 197

Editorial Reviews

2017-2018 Reader Views Literary Awards Finalist in Spirituality 2018 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program Gold Winner in Debut Author 2018 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program Gold Winner in Religious/Spiritual 2018 Feathered Quill Book Awards Program Silver Winner in Memoir 2018 International Book Awards Finalist on Health: Death and Dying "Munn’s debut memoir tells of her own journey of self-discovery after learning of a parent’s terminal illness. Rather than give in to grief, she embarked on what she calls a 'heart-opening journey'—one that she deftly and intensely recounts in this memoir. Throughout this book, the author skillfully describes the nuances of her visits with her mother as well as the deepening of their relationship. A remembrance that effectively captures the profound love between a mother and daughter."
—Kirkus Reviews

“The author’s friendly tone and relatable story make for an easy read that’s heartfelt and genuine. Her book provides an intimate look at a daughter’s love for her mother, and a woman’s fight to stay alive while enjoying every minute of it."
—Booklist

"It is the honesty of Munn’s writing that makes this memoir worthy of praise. If you are facing the task of letting go of a loved one, Rebecca Whitehead Munn’s book can be a guiding light that helps you say goodbye."
—Reader Views

"A love letter and testament to an extraordinary mother, a shared journey through the garden of loss, and the metamorphosis that blossoms through courage and big, open-hearted love as grief subsides into wisdom and grace. Munn has penned an intimate gem of a book that shows how a willing sharing of a darkening path eventually leads to light. Beautiful!"
—Irene Allison, co-author of Stay, Breathe with Me: The Gift of Compassionate Medicine

"In The Gift of Goodbye Rebecca Munn offers a heartfelt chronicle of grief and transformation from living in fear to trusting her faith in something greater than herself. Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, she shows us a path to freedom and the true self.”
—Linda Carleton, author of Elmina’s Fire

"Coping with grief is something we all struggle with, and the reader will surely see something of themselves in [Rebecca's] writing. This is her story of finding herself and sharing her most intimate conversations as she and her mother help each other learn how to say good bye. Readers will certainly be moved by [Rebecca's] story and will take away ideas about how to cope with their own grief.”
—Iris Waichler, award-winning author of Role Reversal: How to Take Care of Yourself and Your Aging Parents

"This deeply moving read is a vivid account of the author’s journey dealing with two of her life’s most catastrophic events—divorce and losing her mother to terminal cancer. The Gift of Goodbye is a reading experience for the heart, which will undoubtedly be breaking and repairing itself with every page turned.”
—Working Mother

From the Publisher

2017-04-25
Munn's debut memoir tells of her own journey of self-discovery after learning of a parent's terminal illness. In 2003, the author was in the middle of a divorce when she suffered another severe blow—her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Rather than give in to grief, she embarked on what she calls a "heart-opening journey"—one that she deftly and intensely recounts in this memoir. The book might have benefited from providing a little more background, as Munn barely touches upon her childhood and the causes of her marital collapse before plunging into her mother's chilling diagnosis: "I let out a gut-wrenching cry, as I thought, No, God, I am really not ready for this," she recalls. Soon, however, she expresses gratitude for being able to "start giving more to Mom from my heart." Throughout this book, the author skillfully describes the nuances of her visits with her mother as well as the deepening of their relationship. At one point, for example, her mother shocked her by saying "I am cured!" She was only in temporary remission, but the author shares her insight that it was more important to be supportive than judgmental: "I chose to focus on the moment and celebrate Mom where she was." They also chose a purple butterfly as their "symbol of connection that would last forever, across different realms." Munn's invocations of a higher power may not appeal to some secular readers, but others will find genuine drama in her account of a deathbed visit, during which the author says that she heard her mother's soul say, "I wonder if I am worthy of receiving God." In the end, Munn analogizes her journey to that of a caterpillar transitioning to a butterfly: having "let go of all the layers of my cocoon and set them free, I ... now live an authentic life with my heart wide open." A remembrance that effectively captures the profound love between a mother and daughter.

Kirkus Reviews