Breathe Cry Breathe: From Sorrow to Strength in the Aftermath of Sudden, Tragic Loss
()
About this ebook
One accident. Two victims. Three deaths. A moving account of grief and its aftermath.
In the fall of 2009, Catherine Gourdier and the other members of her family were happily gathering for a surprise horror-themed birthday party for their youngest member, Julie, when the unthinkable happened.
As Julie and her parents were walking home from church, they were hit by a car driven by an eighty-four-year-old woman. While Catherine’s father somehow escaped without harm, Julie and her mother were rushed to hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries. The family was still reeling from the tragedy when, several weeks later, Catherine’s father died suddenly, most likely from a broken heart.
Breathe Cry Breathe is the story of Catherine’s journey through grief, as she tries to come to terms with the traumatic loss of three close family members. In the ensuing weeks, months and years, Catherine realizes that “grief doesn’t vanish so quickly. It packs a suitcase and moves into your heart and head.”
To help overcome and accept her loss, Catherine seeks alternative healing therapies and throws herself into practical diversions—trying to get a crosswalk installed at the site of the accident; advocating for organ donation and mandatory road tests for elderly drivers; and hosting fundraisers for Special Olympics. After years of struggle, it is these pursuits that finally help her to move beyond her devastating grief.
Catherine Gourdier
CATHERINE GOURDIER owned her own sales agency for sixteen years prior to her career as an assistant director, producer and writer in the film industry. Fundraising for the Special Olympics in memory of her sister, Julie, has become a passion for her. Catherine Gourdier divides her time between the Kawarthas, Toronto and California, but Kingston, Ontario, will always be her home. This is her first book. Please visit her at catherinegourdier.com.
Related to Breathe Cry Breathe
Related ebooks
My Dead Mama's Wind Chimes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCanary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Incorrigible: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Loss, Addiction & Incarceration Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHelp for the Haunted: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl Next Door Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prerequisites for Sleep Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTessa and Claudine: Finding My Sister Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sometimes Daughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLight as a Feather Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsQueer and Loathing on the Yellow Brick Road Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHe Follows Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRunning through Sprinklers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGood Vibrations: a Story of a Single 60s Mum Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBookbound Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Desperate Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGet Down: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Light Years: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All We Left Behind: Virginia Reed and the Donner Party Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove is for the Fearless: Sisterhood of the Sorority House Rejects, #1 Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Ultimate Discipline Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Little Sparrow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSo Long, Little Egypt: A Novel Told in Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSouthern Discomfort: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sunshine & Shadow Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMurder at the Fortune Teller's Table Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twintuition: Double Cross Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Really Good Brown Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Antique Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTowel Dry and a Good Cry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Personal Memoirs For You
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm Glad My Mom Died Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Mormon: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Taste: My Life Through Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yes Please Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mediocre Monk: A Stumbling Search for Answers in a Forest Monastery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Stash: My Life in Hiding Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solutions and Other Problems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Breathe Cry Breathe
0 ratings0 reviews