The Real Happily Forever After Place is a children's book about where loved ones and pets go after they die. The theme of the book centers on how fairy tales end with "they lived happily ever after" but that there is a real "happily ever after place" which is "forever". Death and loss can be very confusing for children, no matter if it is the death of a person or a pet. The story begins with telling about a special place, where there is no worry or pain, sadness or sickness, or death. Each page in the story has a silhouette picture with it. The use of silhouette pictures allows the reader to use their imagination and possibly see the face of loved one they have lost, which is an easier concept for children. All of the pictures express either happiness, excitement, peace or love, which is a comforting concept for anyone experiencing the death of a love one. The happily forever after place shows how happy the people who live there are and some of the things they can do there, such as ride bikes, play with kittens or puppies, play in a park, or hang out with others. The pictures depict adults and children who have died, because any death is difficult for a child, but the death of another child can be especially traumatic and often downplayed by others. The end of this story empathizes with the reader about loved ones they have lost, and explains the real forever after place is heaven. A personal message from the author closes out the book
About the Author: Sheila has loved writing since she was a girl growing up in the hills of West Virginia, where her very vivid imagination was allowed to flourish (thanks for her mother). Sheila is the oldest of 5 children, and was raised with large extended families consisting of close to 50 cousins, who provided her with many adventures. At age 18 a few weeks after graduation from high school, Sheila met and fell in love with her husband, Greg whom she married 5 months later and 40 years later are still happily married. Together they raised 4 children and moved all over the country with Greg's job. Sheila put her writing career on hold to be a full time mom and homemaker, which she loved. As their children began to leave the nest, Sheila's mother encouraged her to find a new adventure. So Sheila returned to college to study writing, where she also fell in love with psychology. In 1999 Sheila graduated from Hasting College with her bachelors in English and Psychology. In 2002 she received her masters in Social Worker from The Ohio State University. Sheila began working as a school social worker shortly thereafter. Over the next 10 years she worked as a social worker/psychotherapist various places. 4 years ago Sheila opened up a private counseling practice, where she is also a grief counselor. Sheila received her grief counseling certification through Grief Recovery.net in Columbus, Ohio. While over the years Sheila has written and submitted many stories, created and wrote for The Ladies Corner (a women's church newsletter), she has just recently published her first children's book, The Real Happily Forever After Place. While taking a writing class in undergrad, Sheila first wrote The Real Happily Forever After Place. The book sat in a drawer for many years, until 2013 where Sheila discovered it, as she was looking for something else. Sheila decided it was time to take her writing serious, especially after counseling so many adults and children, who have lost loved ones and pets. Death and grief is something that touches nearly everyone at some point in their lifetime. Personally Sheila has found death and grieving to be one of the most difficult things to deal with in her own life, with the loss of her father and twin daughters, and other family members. There is no right or wrong way to grieve the loss of a loved one, but all of us can find comfort in those who love us, and by fondly remembering those we have lost. Sheila's book is intended to aid in that comforting.