Dying Words Express Heaven’s Grace to Surviving Loved Ones

Finding the words to tell loved ones that you are dying is extremely difficult and truly something no one wants or is prepared to do. Author Lydia Esparra said her sister, Memby, did not have the words to tell her two daughters that colon cancer would cause her death only 15 months after being diagnosed with the often fatal disease. That meant Esparra needed to talk to her young nieces. Grieving herself for her closest sibling, just 11 months apart in age, that experience was overwhelming, she said. Her discussion became the inspiration for a book Esparra hopes will help others faced with mortality.

Heaven is All Around You, soon to be released by Halo Publishing International, is the story of little girl’s talk with God about death. "It was difficult watching my sister struggle for the words. She really felt she would be here for them and never considered dying an option" Esparra said. "I really want this to be a tool to help other people do what my sister was unable to say." "I wrote it hoping my nieces would know that these were the words in their mother’s heart. They can see her and feel her presence all around them, as can I," she said.

"I had a dream about sharing my sister’s story to help other people. I guess it was sort of a healing process for me. I just felt it was the right thing," Esparra said. "These are words that have to be said, and I’m hoping my book can help people do that with their loved ones."

A staff member at Hospice Services of America, LLC, said the book is a "great tool to help anyone in the position of losing a loved one." "It’s very inspirational," the oncologist said.

Publisher Lisa Umina said Heaven is All Around You is the type of book the company is proud to be part of because it helps people, particularly during a very troubling and confusing time. "I hope that this new book will assist those needing the most difficult words they could ever say to their loved ones," Umina said.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Esparra is one of 10 children raised in a family with strong Christian beliefs. She said her parents are both natives of Puerto Rico and that her dad worked in the once booming steel mill industry while her mother was employed as a nutrition aide. They provided a loving home and encouraged and inspired their children to succeed. Esparra is a graduate of Youngstown’s Ursuline High School and earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from The Ohio State University. She became a television journalist and now anchors the weekend news programs from WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio, where the author has resided for the past 15 years. She is an Emmy award-winning journalist known for compassionate story telling. Esparra and her husband, Greg, have been married for 24 years.
 
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Halo Publishing International
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