2/9/09

Guest Post: Book Review: I Miss My Dad! Author Eric Tomei

My grandfather has been pretty ill the past few years. Three months after a heart valve replacement surgery, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Fortunately, he was diagnosed very early and he is still living after three years. I have gone to bed convinced that I would wake up without my best buddy. Fortunately, he has survived every time and I have been able to enjoy quite a bit of time with him the past few years so his stories are well cemented in my memory.

Eric Tomei did not have that opportunity. His father died suddenly of a heart attack while getting ready for church one Sunday morning. Tomei did not have the chance to go with his father to one last Detroit Tigers game. He did not have the opportunity to hear all of the stories his father loved to tell one last time. He received a phone call and knew he would never see his father on this earth again.

I think his book is the best way to say goodbye any of us can find. He is very publicly sharing something that is deeply personal. No one is prepared in his or her early 30's to say goodbye to their parents, few people have to confront the loss of someone so crucial to their own upbringing so early in life. His tribute is helping me learn what I can expect. I know I am not completely ready for when my grandfather's cancer eventually wins, but this helps.

The impressive thing about this book is the detail Tomei shares about his father. He recounts all of those little things that made this relationship significant to him, from the way his father wore velcro shoes outside the house to his father supplying him with his first copy of Money magazine. These are the little things that make a relationship truly special. He is also blessed with the ability to share these things while keeping the book brief. This is not a read that will take you weeks to complete; rather it is a compact book that is well thought out and easily digestible. It is a trait that serves this type of book well!

I thank Tomei for writing this book. If you have ever lost a parent, I am sure you can appreciate how brave he is for sharing something so personal. For someone like me who is facing that reality soon, I am thankful he showed me that I will never truly lose my grandfather. I just will not see Gumpy when I get to the family farm anymore.

Please pick this book up for yourself. He is donating a portion of every new book sold to Habitat for Humanity, one of his father's favorite causes. Help yourself learn to cope and help strengthen his father's legacy with this week's book you need to read!

Thanks for reading David S. Lingholm. You can visit me at http://goal52.blogspot.com or follow me at www.twitter.com/davidlingholm

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