Redefining Life after Death
Author Joanne Levy was kind enough to send some of her amazing books for my new little free library and when she sent her new, not yet released title, Sorry for Your Loss I couldn’t NOT read it before putting it out for others to enjoy.
Evie’s family owns a Jewish funeral home and when they prepare a funeral for a family with a son Evie’s age, she sort of begins her junior funeral director training. Evie has helped out at the funeral home before but this time her parents ask her to help Oren, the boy who has lost his parents in a horrible accident. Evie has observed and taken in the way her parents care for the loved ones of the deceased so she is pretty confident she is up to the task but Oren is a tough case. Since the accident he has stopped talking which, for chatterbox Evie, is tough. Through a good amount of talking and even some listening, Evie and Oren help each other through grief.
Joanne Levy’s beautiful story is both joyful and heartbreaking. There are so many moments of sadness which you would expect in a book about death and there were also some beautiful moments of life as well. Without realizing it, Evie becomes a good friend to Oren, even though she doesn’t want or need any friends. She supports him as he adjusts to this new life that has been forced upon him. The road to friendship is not without it’s bumps and I really loved how Evie was a bit messy. She’s kind, caring and understanding but just like all pre-teens/teens, is also temperamental and dramatic.
I really enjoyed all of the information about Jewish funerals within the story. Joanne Levy has done an incredible job of explaining many of the things that happen in a funeral home and specifically a Jewish funeral home with care and at a level that her audience can understand. It’s a certainty of life, death, and the more we can demystify it and explain to readers the things that happen, the less afraid they may be when they face death in their own lives.
Evie is very into paper quilling which I had never heard of so I got to learn all about another art form in this story as well. Paper quilling is quite beautiful, you should look it up if you haven’t heard of it already. This art form becomes central to Oren’s healing and Evie’s as well. It is a kind of art therapy for the two. I also loved the way Joanne addresses therapy in the story. There is nothing wrong with seeking help during a traumatic, life changing event and she helps guide her characters to a place where they are ready to receive help to heal.
The readers in my neighbourhood are in for an amazing treat when they choose Sorry for Your Loss from the Little Free Library.
