A.R.E. Press Book Signing Stories

Dear Friends,
My publisher, the A.R.E. Press arranged my first formal book signing Saturday at the Edgar Cayce Center in Virginia Beach. Most first time authors do not have a cast of thousands at a book signing and that was true for me. However, because there weren't thousands of people, it turned into a somewhat 'intimate' moment with many people who shared some stories from their tender hearts. Since this is an interesting journey, I thought I would share some of their stories, without names, of course.
• On lady brought four children who were not her own, but the children of relatives. Three of the children were siblings and one was a cousin. Since this little group was the first group in the room, I started making conversation and asked them what experiences they had had. The oldest boy had lost his grandmother. I asked him what he remembered most about her. It is funny the little things that a person does that stick with a child. He missed her making hot chocolate for him when he would visit and the time she spent listening to him. In those quiet moments, he felt completely loved. He would miss those special things about her. The other three children also had lost a grandmother and they missed her terribly. However, their biggest current grief was the divorce of their parents and the remarriage of their father. These were three sad kids. However, to lift them up a bit, I asked them what they had learned from their parents divorce. Learning from their parents had not occured to them, but in turn they each thought of something. One little girl decided that some people are not meant to be married. Another child learned that you can love both parents even if they do not love each other. The third child wanted the new wife to be a friend because she was so nice and he wanted that to be OK. He learned that it could be and that having this lady as a friend would not necessarily be disloyal to his Mom. They also learned that their parents could divorce but that did not mean that divorce would happen to them. I felt glad that I could take the time to talk to them. The aunt bought the book to learn further how to help her nieces and nephews.
• Another lady was a teacher of special needs children and one of these children had very recently died. She was grieving the loss of this child and trying to help the child's Mom all at the same time. She had me sign a book so that she could read it and perhaps learn how to understand this child's purpose here and what to say to people who were also grieving the child's passing.
• Another lady was a mortician. She also helped with grieving support groups. However, her grief was personal because her husband had died six months ago. Can you imagine how hard all of this was for her? She decided to share my book with her support groups to possibly further their understanding of what had happened to them.
• Two other ladies have a friend who is dying and they asked about how to help their friend, what to say and do. A great deal of information was shared in these moments of a simple book signing.

Most of the people who walked into the room came purely because they were curious. Most had no intention of actually buying the book. All of them bought the book and several bought multiple copies because somehow what they heard filled a need. These are the moments that help me to know that the work that I have done with the love, support and hard work of all of my friends, family and publisher, the A.R.E. Press, is making a difference. The help we are giving to each other is very healing.

More stories to come after the next book signing on Wednesday, August 12 at the Barnes and Noble at Town Center, in Virginia Beach from 2-4pm.
Love, Tina