Starting With Goodbye

THE BOOK: Starting With Goodbye

PUBLISHED IN: 2018

THE AUTHOR: Lisa Romeo

THE PUBLISHER: University of Nevada Press

SUMMARY: Starting With Goodbye begins with loss and ends with love, as a midlife daughter rediscovers her complicated father after his death. Lisa Romeo has little time for grief, but when her dead dad drops in for “conversations,” his absent presence invites the author to examine why the parent she had turned away from in life now holds her spellbound. Lisa reconsiders the affluent upbringing he financed (filled with horses, lavish vacations, bulging closets), and the emotional distance that grew when he retired to Las Vegas and she remained in New Jersey where she marries her high school crush and they earn moderate incomes. She also confronts death rituals, navigates new family dynamics, and searches for meaning, reconciling the Italian-American father—a self-made textile manufacturer—with the complex man she discovers influenced everything in her life, from career choice to spouse. By forging a new father-daughter “relationship,” grief is transformed to hopeful life-affirming redemption. A powerful, honest book that proves when we dare to love the person who challenged us most, it’s never too late.

THE BACK STORY: When my father died, I was a practical, unsentimental person who had lived across the country from him for more than 25 years. And, we had not been close. I thought I’d grieve a bit, then move on. That’s not what happened.

WHY THIS TITLE: Because the story begins at the end of my father’s life. Read all about how the title was chosen in my blog post here — http://bit.ly/SWG-title

WHY SOMEONE WOULD WANT TO READ IT: If you’ve ever lost someone you cared about but didn’t know as well as you wanted to; if you’ve been through loss and found grief was different than you thought, surprising and unpredictable; if you ever talked to your dead loved ones…this is a book for you.

REVIEW COMMENTS:

“I don’t generally care for memoirs, so when my book club chose Starting with Goodbye, I wasn’t enthusiastic. It took only a few pages to change my mind, and I ended up loving it. The author talks about difficult situations with honesty, warmth, compassion, humor, and wisdom. I could identify with so much, and I’ve often thought back to parts of the book. Starting with Goodbye is beautifully written, insightful, enjoyable, and of universal appeal. Highly recommended!” – Amazon review

“Lisa Romeo’s compelling memoir is both a loving tribute to her adored father and a clear-eyed portrait of their complicated relationship. Reading it, you can’t help but reflect on your own familial bonds—but you may also find, as I did, that Lisa’s lovely writing and startling insights lead you into deeper territory, as she wrestles with questions of identity, mortality, and the vagaries of love.” — Christina Baker Kline, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Orphan Train and A Piece of the World

Read more of the 51 five & four star reviews at Amazon — http://bit.ly/SWG-reviews

AUTHOR PROFILE: Lisa Romeo is a writer, manuscript editor, and creative writing teacher. Previously, she worked as a feature writer, equestrian journalist, and public relations specialist. Her short works are listed in Best American Essays 2018 and 2016, and have appeared in the New York Times, O The Oprah Magazine, Victoria Magazine, Inside Jersey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Longreads, Brevity, and many literary journals and essay collections. She lives in her native New Jersey with her husband—and awaits visits from their two college-student sons!

AUTHOR COMMENTS: I wrote this book so that others who’ve experienced grief in an unexpected way after losing a loved one would know they were not alone. And for those whose loved ones left the earth before the relationship felt complete. Thanks for reading!

SAMPLE CHAPTER:

Here’s a short excerpt from the early pages of the book — https://www.nextavenue.org/writing-eulogy-father/ And this essay includes some of Chapter Two — http://bit.ly/3272JwV

LOCAL OUTLETS:

Any bookstore can order it! If you buy from my local independent store (Watchung Booksellers, Montclair, NJ) I’ll sign it. (Put SIGNED in comments box on checkout page.) http://bit.ly/SWG-Watchung

WHERE ELSE TO BUY IT: Amazon — http://bit.ly/SWG-Amazon Ordering links for all vendors – http://www.lisaromeo.net/starting-with-goodbye/order/

PRICE: Cover price is $19.95. But you can usually find it for around $16 print / $12 ebook.

CONTACT THE AUTHOR:

Email – use the form here (I read messages daily) — http://www.lisaromeo.net/connect/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/LisaRomeo Facebook – https://facebook.com/LisaRomeoAuthor Instagram – https://instagram.com/LisaRomeoWriter