Gifts My Father Gave Me: Finding Joy After Tragedy

by Sharon Knutson-felix and Allen R. Kates

Losing someone you love is the hardest thing most of us will ever have to endure. Sharon Knutson-Felix experienced the deaths of her six-year-old son, and, years later, her police officer husband. In... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0966850114
• ISBN13: 9780966850116
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Holbrook Street Press
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

...to anyone and everyone.

In her book: Gifts my Father Gave Me (Finding Joy After Tragedy), Sharon Knutson-Felix puts it out there; her life, and these experiences that have shaped her and made her the woman she is. I've only cried, while reading a book, one other time in all the hundreds and hundreds of books I've read: The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. And actually that's really a short story, not even a book. I sat down with this book at 10 last night after I put my son to bed; and I read, and read until 3 in the morning. By the time I was done with the book there were bunches of tissue lying next to me, and I had went through a whole gamut of emotions that left me feeling drained, but at the same time I felt strangely enlightened. This book made me laugh and cry; I was horrified and wowed. I can't even say how I would have been under the circumstances. I can only hope that I could be as strong as she was and make it through, and go on to grant forgiveness; not only to others but to herself. The main gift that her father gave her was faith; and it was the cornerstone to everything else he instilled her with. She always fell back on her faith. Maybe because some where along the way I lost mines that I was even more wowed by this. I knew going in that this was about her, and her life, its losses, and subsequent healing; however, I wasn't prepared to find myself reading and just wishing that it would be different. I sat there immersed in this book, willing her son and husband not to die; crying with each of her losses. Of course these things have already happened, and all the willing and praying in the world can't change that. Nevertheless, at the end of the book I found myself thinking: God wouldn't give you more than you can handle right? He knew this woman was made of some seriously strong stuff and if anyone could make it through this she could. I took some solace in that. Sharon went on to help so many other people learn to cope with their losses. With her losses she's helped so many others; can we even put a number to it? Gifts my Father Gave Me has left me armed and hopeful and has helped to me look at the losses I've suffered in a whole new way. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone; and I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

If your life feels challenging, you should read this book

I'm no book reviewer. I can barely lace a sentence together, so please be forewarned! This story is unlike anything I have ever read before. Sharon opens her family album and shares her life with incredible honesty - the good, the bad and the ugly are all inside. Through her humor and candor she teaches the reader that apparently unsurvivable challenges are surmountable. Quite simply, Sharon's story is a reminder that no matter how bad things might seem today, there is a tomorrow to look forward to with hope. A worthy read, especially for wives and mothers.

Most especially recommended to the attention of anyone who has lost a loved one of their own

The six year old son of Sharon Knutson-Felix died when a reckless driver jumped a curb and hit the child. She was plunged into the kind of grief only a parent can know, when her husband (on duty as a police officer) was killed by yet another reckless driver. Written with the assistance of Allen R. Kates, "Gifts My Father Gave Me: Finding Joy After Tragedy" is Sharon's personal story of how she came to be able to forgive those reckless drivers who had destroyed her world. This is a memoir of a woman who found the courage and faith to remain a compassionate and loving mother, an informed and caring citizen, and a human being able to transform loss and despair into joy and thanksgiving. "Gifts My Father Gave Me" is inspired and inspiring. Deftly told with pathos and with humor, Sharon's life is laid out for anyone to read, but is most especially recommended to the attention of anyone who has lost a loved one of their own and is seeking to come to terms with tragedy and recover life's joys.