The Golden Sky by E.C. Stilson

 

                                          

Advance Proof Paperback: 284 pages

Genre:  Personal Memoir

Publisher:  Wayman Publications 2011

Source: Book provided by the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

First Paragraph : Entry#1 Being pregnant isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread. On the days I don’t feel like I have Alzheimer’s, I’m like Hercules journeying from hell. Here I am at the age of nineteen, with a seven month old girl and another kid on the way.

My Opinion: This true story about the death of a baby hit me in a way I did not quite expect it to, it was emotionally draining.

 

I defy you not to be moved by this memoir written by a young woman who at times seems so innocent and others so wise. It might not be a great literary work but it is truth and real and something that happens to far too many people. When Elisa was just nineteen her second born child, a son died, she and her husband Cade became a sad statistic, which sadly many thousands of others can relate to. We have all experienced grief and loss but the acute pain of losing a child was just so hard to imagine, until I read this.

One day Elisa Stilton aged 26 found the strength to reread the journal she wrote at the time of his death, when she was hurting more than most of us can ever imagine! It was painful and difficult to read her journal again but it helped Elisa at last find peace with Zeke’s death. Grateful that she had written down her experience at the time this brave young lady decided to share her families pain with the world. Published on November 18th 2011, the anniversary of Zeke’s birth she hopes that by doing so she can help others that have experienced the loss of a child.

The memoir is written in a very honest and personal way and Elisa bares her soul to the world in this diary, leaving nothing out. There are a lot of personal details about her relationships, her pregnancies, her thoughts when they discover the baby may be handicapped, the trauma of his birth, personal letters from her family on his birth and how her marriage nearly falls apart because of all the trauma. However Elisha is one amazing young lady who never gives up, seems to remain cheerful through it all and is determined to find a way of keeping her husband and daughter Ruby together as a family. She is willing to work hard to do so and her fighting spirit and humour will draw you to like this young woman.  In Elisa’s own words I echo that publishing this memoir In honour of Zeke, was a wonderful thing to do, ‘because after every storm, there is a golden sky’.

I was hoping to share a video trailer with you but have been unable to get the embedding to work, so I am just including the link The Golden Sky Trailer - You Tube. It is just 1min 24 sec, do pop over and take a look.

Author Profile – Elisa Stilson

The autobiographical information and photo published here was kindly provided for me by the author herself.

Elisa Hirsch has her degree through the University of Phoenix. Her particular degree has a counselling emphasis and she finds it very useful when leading grief counselling groups for parents who have lost children.
For the last six years she owned and operated EC Boutique. Her company received various awards including, Best of Show at the Utah State Fair, Top Ten Award from Boutique Customs Mini Mall and last year on e-bay it was even rated as the fifth largest custom handmade kids' clothing store in the world. Elisa designed and created outfits for children, but has since decided to close her business and work on her writing career.
Elisa plays six instruments; the violin, piano, drums, alto sax, tenor sax and the clarinet. Her husband is also a musician. They love to play at weddings, funerals, coffee shops and restaurants.
She also enjoys speaking publicly and meeting new people. She has spoken at M.O.P.S., been Juliet in the local play and made it to the final three for the Salt Lake Story Tellers contest in 2001. She hopes to continue being asked to speak at functions and counsel people who need help overcoming grief.
Her husband and four beautiful children are a blessing. She is so proud to have them in her life especially since one of her little boys passed away eight years ago. He was born with birth defects and he changed her life. Since his death, writing has become an even stronger passion of Elisa's. She always wrote, even finishing a ninety page manuscript at the age of ten, but now writing is one of her best driving forces. She tries to write for at least two hours each morning and is in a writing critic group as well as the Writers League of Utah.

Elisa has also put together a selection of the private family photos of her son’s birth,  Zeke Jackson

Elisa and her husband Cade are also musical, listen to some by visiting  Our Music

A young writer to watch take a look at her blog The Crazy Life of a Writing Mum.

A talented couple who went through so much so young, I wish them a successful and happy future together, also thankyou Elisa for asking me to review The Golden Sky, it was a privilege to do so.