My *Not Just for Kids* Book Review: Carry on Castle by Jennifer Stults

                Carry on Castle by Jennifer Stults is not light summer reading.  It is honest, real life unfolding in two hundred fifty-two pages. This is the true story of the author and her daughter living in the aftermath of the sudden, tragic death of her husband, Dan.

             It is an educational book of a different sort.  It’s a part of life that many believe they can imagine.  But as the author’s quote of Lemony Snicket from The Bad Beginning states, “If you have ever lost a loved one, then you know exactly how it feels.  And if you have not, then you cannot possibly imagine it.”

                Jennifer fills the pages of her book with the love of her family.  She gives glimpses of what life was like before Dan died.  She shares the hopes and plans of her young family of three.

                And then she very reluctantly educates us.  Jennifer teaches of the realities of death: what it is to watch the love of your life die; to live a life that wasn’t the plan; to raise a daughter experiencing her own grief.

“…Dan died. Those two words make life a million times harder than it used to be.” – Jennifer Stults

                No, you can’t know what it is to live through a life like this without having experienced it yourself.  But Jennifer provides plenty of painful insights.  If you know someone who is suffering through grief, hopefully after reading the story of Jennifer’s family, you’ll have a better understanding of what their life is like now.  Perhaps you’ll gain a better idea of how to support them. 

                We all hope not to have the people we know and love suffer through such tremendous loss.  But the reality is, it happens.  This is one person who is willing to share her love and her loss with all of us.

  You can find Jennifer Stults’ book on Amazon.