
Wednesday, July 30, 2014

In this raw, emotional memoir, Nate Bennett shares the blog he maintained to work through his grief over the sudden loss of his wife Shannon. He is surprised and comforted to discover a vast virtual community of support. His blog posts—alternately poignant and of dry wit—eventually attracted tens of thousands of hits and a following from readers who hadn't known the couple.
This unique book gives the reader a window into the starkness of a widower’s grieving experience in real time. What comes through in virtually every post is his love for Shannon as he weaves in vignettes from their life together, chronicling their love story and his efforts to recover.
And in the end, with the support of his virtual community and the strength he was able to draw from remembering Shannon’s wishes for him, he finds love again.
This unique book gives the reader a window into the starkness of a widower’s grieving experience in real time. What comes through in virtually every post is his love for Shannon as he weaves in vignettes from their life together, chronicling their love story and his efforts to recover.
And in the end, with the support of his virtual community and the strength he was able to draw from remembering Shannon’s wishes for him, he finds love again.


In the fall of 2011, Nate lost his wife of 26 years in a shocking turn of events. She’d just had an outpatient procedure on her shoulder and the doctor sent Nate to get the car to bring her home. In the next few minutes, things went terribly wrong.
Shannon collapsed, never to recover. After more than a week in a critical care unit in pursuit of a cure, Nate honored Shannon’s wishes and had her life support discontinued and she died shortly later. Nate’s book, Shannon’s Gift, is the result of the blog Nate kept during Shannon’s hospitalization and after her death. Initially, the purpose of the blog was to keep friends and family informed of Shannon’s condition. Quickly, though, the blog became Nate’s catharsis and a way to stay connected to a web of supporters.
Shannon collapsed, never to recover. After more than a week in a critical care unit in pursuit of a cure, Nate honored Shannon’s wishes and had her life support discontinued and she died shortly later. Nate’s book, Shannon’s Gift, is the result of the blog Nate kept during Shannon’s hospitalization and after her death. Initially, the purpose of the blog was to keep friends and family informed of Shannon’s condition. Quickly, though, the blog became Nate’s catharsis and a way to stay connected to a web of supporters.
Tweets to Spread the Word about the book and the disease
Shannon's Gift by Nate Bennett @ShannonsGift is a life affirming read. Read more about the book here http://bit.ly/UvqBG4
#Grieving, #loss, #LoveStory those are the words to describe @ShannonsGift a powerful read by Nate Bennett #Buy http://bit.ly/1jXx8p7
Read the book that is @ShannonsGift a #MustRead. Buy the book on #Amazon http://amzn.to/1qCwOPL
Find out more about Mitochondrial Disease at http://bit.ly/WFNvwx and #READ @ShannonsGift http://bit.ly/UvqBG4
Discover the heart that is the #Book @ShannonsGift http://shannonsgift.com Watch the #BookTrailer and #Buy the #Book and read Nate's Journal
What an incredible story, I have been reading Finding Vern by Darcy Mascarro. A similar story as far as being a widow and losing a soul mate. Her book is a great read, findingvern.com is the site. Bennett's book is going next on the top of my TBR!
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