Archive for April, 2010

No Way to Behave at a Funeral-a review

April 27, 2010

This book is an intensely personal account of the author’s journey after the death of his beloved wife, Maris.

Noel Braun bares it all in these pages. Grief and loss are as much a part of life as birth and love- we all will endure these at some time in our lives. So this book can be a comfort to others facing the loss of a loved one.

The author’s pain is raw, more so because his wife died by suicide after suffering many years of depression. He felt not only tremendous grief, but tremendous guilt that he could not have prevented his wife’s death.

The author has been brutally honest in this account of his life as a widower. This book is well written, and, as the author says, it is a love story first and foremost.

Wendy O’Hanlon     Cick-A Cultural Connection

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Depression

April 16, 2010

I witnessed Maris’ daily struggle with depression. Early morning was the worst. I’d wake, look across and see her, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, mustering the courage to face the day. One day I glanced across as usual and this poem came to me. I grabbed a scrap of paper before I lost it.

Her eyes are open

But she cannot see

Beyond the black veil

Drawn across her world.

She longs for the bright sun

To shine upon her earth

And banish the bleak dark shadows.

She longs for the gentle breeze

To lift the heavy curtain

That hides the good things in her life

But all she can feel

Are bleak cold winds

That chill her to the soul.

Maris found the scrap and wept. It described her situation exactly. She thought I had copied the lines from a book. I knew where she was at. I was doing my best to accompany my wife, to support on her terrible journey.

Extract from: No Way to behave at a Funeral.

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No Way to Behave at a Funeral

April 16, 2010

I have just published a new book. Entitled No Way to behave at a Funeral, it is a memoir of my journey following the death by suicide of my wife Maris after years of suffering depression. The comments on the back cover are as follows:

The abrupt ending of a life by suicide can be the most catastrophic of events for those left behind. Survivors experience intense pain and massive guilt. Guilt banishes survivors to a place so removed from the normal hurley-burly of everyday life that they feel close to madness. Somehow they have to claw their way back.

Noel accepted that there was no way around his anguish and met suffering head on. His pain allowed him to discover the richness with him and to grow in wisdom which he hopes might be of benefit to others.

Maris’ death did not shut her out of Noel’s life. She remains a very real presence. This is a love story with a difference.

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