Guest Author JUDY MANDEL showcase & giveaway ENDED

Crystal, from WOW!, sent me the information on today’s featured book and after reading the synopsis, I wanted to share it with you because I thought it would be something we would all enjoy reading.  And who better to tell of us about the book, but the author herself.  So I ask that you help me in giving a warm welcome to Ms. Judy Mandel !!

JUDY MANDEL

Judy Mandel was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, but her family moved to the more suburban Cranford when she was three. The town she lives in now in Connecticut is nearly a duplicate of her childhood hometown.

In college, she tried several different majors over the course of finding her way. Finally, she settled on English and Journalism. She worked her way through those last college years singing and playing guitar in coffee shops and clubs.  Judy’s writing life began as a reporter. She later worked in public relations and advertising and somehow found herself in corporate communications at various insurance companies, where she earned a living for 20 years. Judy now balances her business writing for clients with writing fiction, nonfiction and articles.
Connect with Ms. Mandel at these sites:

http://www.replacementchild.com/Home.html https://www.facebook.com/ReplacementChild https://twitter.com/judymandel

GUEST POST

The Evolution of Replacement Child

When my parents died, within seven months of one another, I knew it was time to write the book they had always told me I should write. I found myself digging out an old file folder of news clips, notes and letters they had left me about the plane crash that killed their older daughter, Donna, and gravely injured their two year old, Linda. My mother had saved the news stories from the accident and wrote me longhand notes on many sheets of yellow legal paper. My dad added his letters explaining what had happened that day from his perspective. Linda, my sister who was badly burned in the resulting fire, wrote to me about her experiences in and out of hospitals, and gave me a window into her inner turmoil.

The accident happened two years before I was born, so the story of the plane crash took on a mythic quality for me as I was growing up. It was the aftermath of a tragedy, in this case, my own family’s tragedy, that intrigued me enough to keep me writing for the four years it took to wade through it.

I know that the writing was also part of my grieving process, to keep my family with me. And, I clearly heard their voices while I wrote the book. Not in an eerie way; it was comforting to have them around a while longer. Somehow I felt they would help me fulfill the responsibility to tell the truth of their journey. The hard part for me was finding my own place in the story—which didn’t start to happen until about two years into the project.

When I started writing, I thought this was a book about my parents. How they managed to pick up the pieces of their lives after losing their daughter. How they rallied for my sister Linda, giving her the courage to go through countless surgeries as a child, and to face the world with significant scars from her burns; then, how they had the hope to bring another child into the world—me.

Then, I thought it was my sister Linda’s story. I didn’t really see her scars. She was just my sister. I wasn’t aware she was different until I saw others react to her, and, I wanted to protect her from further hurt. Her bravery was an inspiration to me, and to everyone who knew her. Not only for her ability to endure a great deal of physical pain from many operations, but to confront a not always accepting world with humor and a smile.  I hoped her story would be an inspiration to others who read about it.

But, ultimately it turned out to my own story. When I discovered there was a psychological term for a child born after the death of a sibling—“replacement child”—it changed the focus of my book and my personal journey. As I learned more, I identified with the term and the characteristics associated with the replacement child. It explained so much to me about my life’s trajectory.

The writing of such a personal memoir is a journey with twists and turns no one can predict. My path led to healing, understanding and forgiveness.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Replacement Child tells the true story of a horrifying accident: A plane crashes into a family’s home, leaving one daughter severely burned and another dead. The death of the child leaves a hole in the family that threatens to tear it apart. In an attempt to fill the painful gap, the parents give birth to a “replacement child.” But what is life like for a child that was born only be replacement and how does that unique position in the family affect them into their adulthood?

In this powerful story of love and lies, family and hope, Judy L. Mandel tells the story of being the child brought into the world to provide “a salve for the burns.” As a child, she unwittingly rides the deep and hidden currents of her family’s grief—until her discovery of this family secret, years later, changes her life forever, forcing her to confront the complex layers of her relationships with her father, mother, and sister.

This powerful memoir switches between the history of the family before the accident, the day of the accident and Judy’s memories of her own life in a fascinating way of connecting the “before” and “after” families.

BOOK DETAILS:

Title: Replacement Child
Author: Judy Mandel
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Seal Press
Publication Date: March 5, 2013
Paperback: 320 pages

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

THANKS TO CRYSTAL AT WOW!,
I
HAVE ONE (1) COPY TO GIVE AWAY.
PRINT–OPEN TO U.S. AND CANADA RESIDENTS
OR EBOOK–OPEN TO ALL
FILL OUT RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM BELOW
GIVEAWAY ENDSAPRIL 24th AT 6PM EST

th_WOWblogExcellencerubyslippers

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

a Rafflecopter giveaway

YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review.  No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.  I am an IndieBound affiliate.  I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

 

24 thoughts on “Guest Author JUDY MANDEL showcase & giveaway ENDED

    1. Our family had a tradition of having a child and naming it after someone loved in the family. My first brother was named after my grandfather when he was born but he died of SIDS.

      My aunt told me about the tradition at my second brother’s funeral. She whispered it to me. I didn’t want to do it because I believed that each child should exist in their own right not as a replacement child. This story really struck me, I really want to read it so will put it on my wish list.

  1. This book sounds like a touch your heart read. I will be adding this to my want to read list!

  2. No, I don’t know of any replacement children. This book sounds amazing. I’d love to read it.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  3. Our second son died from SIDS at two months old. We went on to have a daughter the next year. While true that we wouldn’t have had another child if our son hadn’t died, I never considered her a “replacement child” and pray that she never felt like one.

  4. I have known a replacement child. In fact, one of my aunts had a little girl who was stillborn. She named her Casey Leigh. She then had another daughter, named Caset Leigh, who ied at 3 months of SIDS. Her third daughter, named Casey Leigh, fortunately was born strong and healthy and is still with us. Sometimes I think it’s a little creepy.

  5. No I don’t know anyone. I had a friend not stop trying til she had a girl and basically ignored her boys when she finally had her goal she was happy but the poor boys. Not quite the same.

  6. Please enter me in your giveaway.
    It would be great to win a copy of
    Replacement Child by Judy Mandel.
    In response to your question of
    DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS A “REPLACEMENT CHILD”?
    No i don’t .
    Thank you for having this giveaway!!!!!!!

  7. Fortunately I do not know anyone in that circumstance, but I can only imagine how painful it must be to be labeled a replacement child.

Leave a Reply to Terri ClarkCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.