Twentyone Olive Trees

 

Nothing could have prepared Laura Formentini for the shocking news of her son’s death by suicide. Seeking solace during her time of grief, Laura turned inward to transform her pain and shock into healing and peace. She accomplished this by writing letters, poems, and fables to her son, Blaise, in the year after his untimely death. This became the beautiful tribute Twentyone Olive Trees: A Mother’s Walk through the Grief of Suicide to Hope and Healing.

 
This book traces the author’s path from grief to understanding and healing. Laura shares the important message that it is in your power to overcome even the most traumatic events by creating something beautiful in the wake of death, divorce, disease, and destruction from natural and man-made disasters.

Inspired by teachers like Deepak Chopra, Laura achieved her own healing transformation through creatively writing the morals and wisdom she gained in the twenty-one years with her son. The fables, accompanied by beautiful illustrations, have a playful, childlike way of helping the reader cope with loss and embrace acceptance and healing. It is Laura’s hope that these stories will act as a balm for those going through their grief and dark moments, while encouraging them to embrace their new beginnings. 

This is the perfect book to help those seeking to heal and transform in the wake of a traumatic loss.

My Review

I have not lost someone to suicide, but I have lost grandparents to death. No matter how you lose someone very dear in your heart, it is a heartbreak. Therefore, I think we all would feel the way that Laura did when she lost her son. 

The stories and poems she wrote were so moving. Each one displayed great emotion with love, lose, anguish, remorse, sadness, family bond, togetherness, etc. 

Laura explained that before each letter or poem was a fable story that provided different morals that she and her late son, Blaine shared together. I really enjoyed these stories. They added an extra depth and provided me an inside look into who Blaine may have been. Therefore, when I got to the letters and poems after each story, they were so beautiful. Anyone who is dealing with loss, I think will find this book cathartic.