Taylor's Gift: a Book about Grief and Organ Donation

I love to read, but rarely do I do any book reviews. I was so touched by this book, I just had to share. It has a lot to do with school counseling, as occasionally during our career, a student in our school passes away from cancer or a car accident.  This book is written from the perspective of the grieving parents, and I know it took a lot of courage to share their raw emotions with whomever reads this.  Grief is probably the one area in counseling that I feel inadequate to really help- each grieving person needs to go through the stages and there is no right or wrong answer about the amount of time it should take. The best we can do as counselors is to listen and give advice when appropriate.

This book centers around Taylor, a 13 year old girl who lost her life in a terrible ski accident in 2010, and her parents' decision to donate her organs. In the book, they introduce the recipients of her organs and share how they got to meet each one.  It is also a story about their faith and how God communicated with them to give them peace and find a purpose in their grief.

The passion of the parents, Todd and Tara, was to start a foundation to raise awareness of organ donation and to increase the number of registered donors after discovering how few (especially in their home state of Texas), there actually were.

If you want a good summer book, grab this one from your local library, e-bookstore, or bookstore, but be sure to have a box of kleenex handy. You will probably read it in a week like I did!  If you want to know more about their foundation and organ donation, go to www.taylorsgift.org.