Comfort by Ann Hood

I take a 45-minute walk around Larkspur Landing on my lunch break on the four days a week that I work at my hospice. I have been doing this same walk for about four years now, so the route is pretty familiar. While I walk, I listen to an audio book. The other day I was zipping around a tight corner and my headphones got tangled up around a bush. The more I tried to de-tangle myself, the further the bush seemed to be tugging me toward it. And all of the sudden, there I was, face to face with the bush’s bright purple flowers. Purple. My dad’s favorite color was purple. It felt like my dad was just saying “Hi.” It had to be. I finally pried my headphones from the prongs of the bush and said, “I miss you too, Dad.” Then I walked back to work. My dad died four years ago, and that painfully sad time has passed like the blink of an eye. “Comfort: A Journey Through Grief” is one of several books Ann Hood has written about her five-year-old daughter Grace who died in 2002 from a virulent form of strep throat. This book is about the time after Grace’s death when Hood, her husband, Lorne, and son, Sam, had to learn how to live again. A well-known novelist, Hood could not find comfort in writing or even reading after Grace’s death. She was, as you can only imagine, paralyzed by the memories a daughter who has suddenly vanished. One day, a friend suggested Hood should learn how to knit. That simple suggestion was one of the things that brought her back to life. “Comfort” is a small book packed with heart, wisdom and so much soul.  It gives great insight into grief, and how to find the road back from loss to comfort. To buy this book on Amazon click here.