Wednesday, February 20, 2008

GRIEF GIRL by Erin Vincent




It happened when they were innocently crossing the street. A speeding tow truck hit them both. She was killed instantly, and he died one month later from complications.

GRIEF GIRL is the true story of Erin Vincent and how she lost both her parents. The lives of Erin, her older sister Tracy, and their younger brother Trent, were tragically changed on the night on October 23, 1983. They were called to the hospital only to learn that their mother was already dead, and their father had suffered crushing injuries to both of his legs.

The story that follows is about how Erin moved from a stunned fourteen year old to a mature young woman with a job in journalism. Life dealt them a cruel blow, but Erin, Tracy, and Trent struggled to overcome less than helpful relatives, financial hardships, and numbing grief to stay together as a family.

Erin describes in detail the stages of grieving that threatened at times to break her will to survive. There was the shock, the tears, the fears, and the depression of the first year of survival. As time passed, Erin details the pressure she felt to keep things running smoothly and not create extra pressure for her sister Tracy. She explains the anger and resentment she felt when the uncle in charge of their inheritance refused to make funds available for necessary expenses. She also speaks candidly of grandparents on her father's side who offered no encouragement or support, but rather criticizm and threats to remove little Trent from his sisters' care.
GRIEF GIRL takes readers on a nearly four year journey of intense emotions that will leave a lasting impression. Hopefully, Erin Vincent will not stop with her own personal story, but will go on to use her writing talents in many other creative ways.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have read this book, i quite enjoyed it. I was told to find a book for my livung with dying course and stumbled across this book. this a very hard story to tell. you can almost feel the way she feels. thank you for writing about your experience Erin Vincent.

Anonymous said...

I also read the book and it's too bad she didn't wait to get all the way through the grief process before she shared her story with the world. This book is a snapshot of her solidifying herself in the anger stage of grief. I hope she doesn't stay there, but as she admits on page 269, "Sometimes I enjoy being self-pitying." So if you enjoy self-pity you will enjoy this book... otherwise don't bother.

Anonymous said...

I'm reading this book right now and its good its the best book I hv read so far but I cant read it for too long. Thanks for sharing ur story Erin it was great.