Book Review: The Best Worst Thing

The Best Worst Thing, by Kristen K. Brown, is the story of a 34-year-old widow, mother, author and entrepreneur, who has found a way to deal with tragedy and manage the stress that goes along with it.

Kristen K. Brown found herself a young widowed mother when her husband died of a heart attack at the age of 30. Kristen experienced feelings of grief,  regret, denial and anger as she struggled to survive the days following her husband's death.

This is a true story of love, loss, rebirth and self-discovery. This is an amazing journey through the grief process and into a new life of acceptance and happiness.

Love
In the opening chapters of this book, Kristen shares the story of her courtship and early marriage to Todd Brown. Kristen and Todd had attended the same high school but did not start dating until several years after they graduated. Kristen and Todd shared a strong bond from the beginning of their relationship and dated several years before getting married. I especially enjoyed the story of how Todd proposed and the details of their marriage.
Kristen was excited about being a mother and gave birth to Brooke on December 1, 2006.

Death
Todd Brown died suddenly in his sleep on September 9, 2007. The entire family was together to attend the wedding of Kristen's sister. An autopsy was later performed and the results showed that Todd had suffered a heart attack. He did not have any history of medical problems or heart issues. The death came as a complete shock to everyone involved.

Acceptance and Growth
Kristen learns to survive and eventually thrive in the weeks, months and years following Todd's death. This was not an easy journey but Kristen slowly builds a new life for herself. She quit a job that was making her miserable and launched a new business that she named Happy Hour Effect.

"After all that's happened, I like to say now that I may be money-poor but I'm happiness rich...and that's all that really matters, isn't it?"

 It was hard to put this book down. Kristen really opened her heart and exposed her inner-most feelings. Most of us can't imagine what it would be like to lose a spouse at such a young age. This book will teach you how to mend a broken heart.  Healing and acceptance is what this book is all about. A very good read.

Disclosure: Kristen Brown sent me a complimentary paperback copy of this book to read and review. Thank you!
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You Can Ride A Horse

Several months ago, my dad suffered a major heart attack.  The doctors said that his heart valves were leaking and he would not survive a surgery to repair them.  He might live a week, month or maybe even a year....but there was no hope for recovery.  Basically, he was a dead man walking.
Dad spent a month in the hospital but he really wanted to go back to his beloved home.  He seemed to be doing better.  He could get out of bed and walk with assistance.  He was eating well and said that he was not feeling any pain.  Unfortunately, he was plagued with shortness of breath and oxygen hunger.
The decision was made for Dad to go home and my mother would take care of him with the help of a Hospice nurse.  He would get up each morning and get dressed.  Some days were better than others but he was very happy to be home.  He was striving to resume his normal routine and that included going into town and have coffee each morning with his friends. 
One day Dad asked the Hospice nurse, "Can I go to the coffee shop"? 
The nurse replied, "You can do anything you feel like doing.  You can ride a horse if you want to!"
This made Dad feel very happy.  Even though he knew what the doctors said, he thought that he must be getting better if he could ride a horse.  Of course, he had no desire to ride a horse but he did enjoy joining his friends for coffee for the last couple of weeks of his life. 
On the day that he died, my mother drove Dad into town to get a hair cut and then they attended the Rotary luncheon.  He spent his last days living life to the fullest and doing exactly what he wanted to do.
I like to think that Dad rode a horse into heaven to meet his Lord on that October evening. 
We should live each day to the fullest.  We don't know how much time we have left so we should spend our time wisely.  Don't wait to live your dreams.  You can ride a horse today!