In those dreadful days and nights as Mike collided with the morbid memories of his son's suffering and death-and the unbearable ache of Jim's absence-he needed a way to describe the anguish of his heart. So, he found a spiral-bound notebook and wrote. And wrote and wrote and wrote.

Mike believed if he could find the right words-give a voice to the unspeakable-he might also find a way to endure the pain. If he could expose those words of grief to the light, it might make the whole thing bearable. Many of his words were dark and raw and angry and did little more than chronicle ten interminable years of wrestling and railing. But many revealed islands of hope and yes, rays of light.

Through the generous encouragement of friends, Mike came to wonder if those words of light, which he discovered in the darkest of nights, might also help others endure the unbearable realities of their pain and loss. Could they give voice to someone else's grief? If so, then they couldn't remain buried in a stack of spiral-bound notebooks.