Some of you may be familiar with the name Tim Madigan. Tim was a feature writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for a number of years, during which he was named the state's top reporter three different times. While at the Star-Telegram, Tim began writing books, including the book I'm Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers. Tim began his friendship with Fred Rogers in 1995, and he frequently talks about this friendship in lectures around the country.

Tim's most recent book is Getting Grief Right: Finding Your Story of Love in the Sorrow of Loss.

Conventional wisdom is that we go through the 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Too often we feel we have to move through these stages in order, and that once we have done so, we have "dealt" with our grief. 

This book offers an alternative way to think about grief, and how we might more effectively work through our feelings of loss. We all have our own stories of grief and loss, but too often we don't really have the opportunity to share those stories.

Tim wrote this most recent book with therapist Patrick O'Malley. This book is not only Patrick's story about the loss of his infant son, but as importantly, it discusses how it might be best to re-think the ways we deal with grief.

Tim has shared that he and Patrick have been talking about this book for about a decade. They both believe the message of the book is important. 

CQEC believes the message of this book is important as well. We are delighted that Tim has agreed to talk to us about the things he learned writing this book, and to share some of the lessons he learned about suffering and authenticity from Fred Rogers. The date for this event is September 28, so watch this space, as well as the CQEC website for more details as they become available.