When your life is shattered in an instant, can conscious and deliberate gratitude and connection to nature help you find joy and hope again? Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude follows the first thirty months after Sam Francoeur’s death from an accidental opiate (prescription) overdose. His mother, Kris Francoeur, shares her journey from the first crushing days to her eventually being able to find … eventually being able to find light, joy, and hope again through the practices of conscious and deliberate gratitude, unconditional acceptance of others, and making strong connections to the natural world. Her story helps grieving families feel that hope and joy will return, no matter how devastating and permanent the loss. Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude approaches grief with both a very clear understanding of the realities of the process, and also shares a very personal and honest account of living with grief. It presents healing and hope without relying on religion, formal psychotherapy, or pharmaceutical resources. Kris’s story reminds readers that even as people struggle with mental health issues and addiction, they can still bring joy and love to the world, and everyone is worthy of love and acceptance.
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One thing I love about books is how you get an inside look into someone’s life and kind of MESH into that person; seeing what they see, understanding what they know, appreciating the people in their lives and loving who they loved. Through reading Of Grief, Garlic, and Gratitude, I really came to love Sam and all he stood for. Perhaps a mother’s love is the greatest love on Earth, and seeing Sam through his mother’s lens made me love him too. He is the kind of person you wish the whole world were made up of, the kind that would advance the human race and elevate the connectivity of every living being. It was truly an honor to meet this soul through the pages of this deeply moving book, as if he were as real as standing in front of me. His love lives on, his cheerfulness lives on and his presence is ever present. Sam Francoeur, it is really a pleasure to meet you!
Now, here are a bunch of random things I liked from the book.
The first chapter already left me misty-eyed. It made me feel faint, and it made my mother’s heart ache.
I love how Sam knew everyone. Very open and warm personality.
Someone wrote about him, “I never saw you in a bad mood. If there was conflict, you were there to say something like, “Hey guys, let’s just hug it out instead.”
Haha! Sheep in a Civic listening to Hendrix. LOVE IT! Such a cute thing to do.
It’s just so beautiful what this mom did for her son. She turned her grief into a book that made his spirit live on an inspire everyone. From pain, a beautiful book was born.
I love how Sam wanted to talk to everyone as a baby.
He wanted to build a round house when he got older. Haha! So there would be no corners. How funny.
“As soon as the time out was over, the sunshine that was Sam would come back, and he never held a grudge.”
It’s so sweet how Ben, not two hours old, recognized Sam’s voice
Standing ovation and singing Amazing Grace outside. So touching.
Got goosebumps as I read about the rainbow over Leicester
The Facebook posts are beautifully woven throughout the book. They actually added to the book.
“Someone has been making little stone towers on Sam’s grace, thank you to the mystery builder.” So sweet
It’s so cute how he and a friend would weigh themselves on Thanksgiving and see who weighed more. He sounds like a really fun person to be around. What a goofy and cheerful person.
“Today, I am also thankful for the stark and glorious beauty of the white snow with the direct sunshine!” It’s extraordinary how the author could manifest gratitude in her deepest moments of grief. This is unbelievable and shows the absolute resilience of her spirit.
“Today, I also give thanks for the life and example of Nelson Mandela. While I have always found him to be an inspiration, today I thought a lot about how three of his own children ‘departed’ before him, and yet he kept going with a message of love and forgiveness.” Love this.
Love the part about the Peruvian group playing in New York.
The Christmas Box, by Richard Evans. I must remember to look into this.
From this book, I learned how to talk to people who experienced what the author did and what not to say. This is a very good learning experience!
Stories of alpacas, so heartwarming
I listened to Ave Maria
“I needed to make a light shine in the darkness so he would know we were thinking of him.”
Love what you guys did for Outright in Burlington to help transition-aged youth.
This book is evidence of a mother’s infinitely loving heart. It’s so beautiful to witness this.
In the middle of reading this book, I had to go on a weeklong vacation. And during that time, I missed reading about Sam and Kris and the entire family.
Had tears when reading about Sbeckles.
Funny, “He’s still leaving dirty dishes for me.”
“In all, I have learned that love matters even more than I fully realized. Love comes in many forms, whether it is a Tree of Life symbol as a gift, a beautiful letter written about a knitting project, friend letting me talk about Sam and crying with me, brownies and bread left on the front steps, a star bracelet to remind me to look to the heavens to talk to Sam, a teen boy carrying Speckled up through the snow so she could get her food, an orchid blooming in our house, text messages to say someone is thinking of us, Sam’s bell ringing at odd times, a quilt for Sora, hugs in the grocery store, and so many other forms. Love is all that matters.”
It was powerful when the author talked about the importance of people reconnecting with the estranged. No problem is worth losing contact over, and that really hit home for me.
Loved that she danced in the rain
What the priest said was just horrifying. There was no love there.
Love the messages from the one year anniversary.
This book made me a more loving person.
So sweet how this mother learned all the things her son liked, including Twiddle. Just so, so sweet.
I felt proud of her when she started voicing her opinions about difficult subjects. That takes a lot of bravery.
“You don’t get over losing a child. But in that moment, seeing that rainbow on his birthday at a concert of his favorite band, with many of the people he loved most around us celebrating his birthday, I felt the beginning of the understanding of how infinite love is, how it doesn’t die when someone’s heart stops, and that if you can find your way through the haze of pain, you can still see signs of that love and you can bring good out of your pain.”