Maria Housden

Found this at a library sale for a quarter. Apparently Maria Housden's first book, HANNAH'S GIFT, about the death of her second child from cancer at not quite five years old, was an international bestseller, translated into a dozen or more languages. What we learn from this her second book, UNRAVELED (2004), is how her marriage gradually came apart in the aftermath of Hannah's death - not unusual, as the death of a child always puts terrible stress on a marriage. As it turns out, her marriage to Claude was already on rather shaky ground, as he was overly controlling and emotionally - and even physically - abusive, at least in the author's version. And there were three other young children still to consider. The author tells how hard she tried to maintain the image of a perfect family, and also how she wanted to tell Hannah's story, to write a book. Theh go to counseling. She suspects Claude is cheating on her. She arranges to leave the children with her sister and goes on a solitary "retreat" in a remote, rural area, where she hopes to begin writing. Instead she meets Roger, a fifty year-old writer from England (she is thirty-five), and rather quickly, it seems, falls in love - and into bed - with him. Upon returning home to New Jersey, she files for divorce and agrees to give Claude primary custody of the children. Gets her own lovely little place by the sea where the kids can visit. Later she moves to California to be with Roger, writes her HANNAH book and makes some very big bucks, finally marries Roger, moves back East, and, I guess, lives happily ever after - although she and Roger maintain separate residences in NY and NJ. And, oh yeah, since the divorce, her ex refuses to see her or speak to her, or allow her into the house where her kids still live with him. And we're meant to believe the kids are all just fine with this. In regard to this, the author tells us -

"There are many days when my heart still aches to be more with my kids, but I also know and trust that I am close to and still discovering my changes. And each morning as I sit on my terrace, sipping my coffee and gazing out at the ocean, I feel blessed to be reminded again that every river, no matter its twists and bends, always returns to the sea."

My, my. Isn't that pretty? I mean, Huh? I'm sorry, but I found this whole story to be completely self-serving, mawkish and overly romanticized in the manner of a Harlequin romance novel. I skim-read whole passages and pages. Not recommended, but probably worth what I paid for it.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (mais)

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Housden-Le-cadeau-dHannah/29743
> Psycha Analyse : Bibliographie sélective sur la mort

> Saint-Arnaud Jocelyne. Bibliographie indicative sur la « bonne mort »
In: Frontières, Volume 20, numéro 1, automne 2007, p. 119–120. … ; (en ligne),
URL : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/017966ar

> Depuis le milieu des années 80, des centaines de livres, pratiques et théoriques, sont parus sur l’accompagnement des personnes très malades ou en fin de vie. Nous ne pouvons en citer que quelques-uns (les “scènes” 1, 2, 4 et 5 de ce dossier sont tirées de "Réapprivoiser la mort", de Patrice van Eersel, Livre de Poche).

LE CADEAU D’HANNA, de Maria Housden, Marie de Hennezel (trad) - Ed. Presses de la Renaissance. — Le cadeau d’Hannah est une chose assez inconcevable. Et pourtant rigoureusement authentique. Comment une enfant de trois ans et demi, atteinte d’une maladie mortelle, peut-elle être traversée par une telle lucidité, une telle sagesse, une telle sollicitude à l’égard de ses proches (eux toujours un wagon en retard sur elle, et s’efforçant chaque fois de la rattraper) ? Comment une telle joie de vivre peut-elle continuer d’emplir un petit corps qu’un haut mal ronge si inexorablement ? C’est ainsi : jusqu’à son tout dernier souffle, la petite Hannah vous fera rire, sauter de joie, crier de bonheur. Un bijou.

Signalons aussi : L’art d’accompagner notre grand départ [Mots-clés (35)]

*Source: Nouvelles Clés… (mais)

Maria Housden: När min dotter Hannah fick diagnosen cancer en månad innan hon skulle fylla tre krackelerade mitt liv. Jag började ifrågasätta allt vad jag tidigare hade trott på. Tidigare hade jag mätt mitt värde i hur uppskattad jag var av andra och sagt ja till saker mest för att bli omtyckt och älskad. Jag hade kämpat för att upprätthålla en illusion av att mitt liv var perfekt och hållit undan det som egentligen var viktigt för mig. Hannahs diagnos fick mig att vakna.

flickan med de röda skorna är en omtumlande berättelse om ett sorgearbete som utmynnar i en ny tro på livets värden och kärlekens makt. Maria Housden är flitigt anlitad som föreläsare av kyrkliga organisationer, universitet och sjukvårdsinstitutioner. Hon bor i Michigan i USA.… (mais)