: Andrea Brandt
: Good Game Gretch
: BookBaby
: 9798350978292
: Good Game Gretch
: 1
: CHF 10.70
:
: Ratgeber
: English
: 312
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Good Game Gretch is a memoir about surviving the death of a child, while moving forward to keep their memory alive. It was written by Andrea Brandt, and tells the story of Gretchen, her daughter who died in a car accident at the age of 16. Andrea, her husband Gary, and their three boys were left to figure out a new life they knew nothing about. Readers will meet the Brandt family and hear about their journey through grief starting on November 17, 2004. This book takes you through the unbelievably hard steps of living with part of your heart in Heaven. With love, strength, and perseverance, the Brandt family found a way to move on and keep Gretchen's memory alive in everything they do. It's a story of never giving up and feeling the love of a very special angel riding on their shoulders.

Andrea Brandt is the mother of 4, with a passion for teaching children. She was an educator for 35 years, with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She is also a bereaved parent. In 2004, the unthinkable happened when her 16-year-old daughter Gretchen was killed in a car accident. Her young sons, who were 14, 12, and 10 at the time, were left without their big sister. Andrea and her husband Gary were left in a world they had no experience with. Andrea understood the importance of dealing with the trauma and the impact it would have on her family. She has spent the past 20 years keeping her daughter's memory alive and giving back to the community that so compassionately surrounded her family and helped them to move on. Andrea's book, Good Game Gretch, is a memoir about surviving the death of a child, while moving forward to keep their memory alive. It is about her daughter Gretchen, and the journey of grief as a bereaved parent. It is the story of Gretchen, and how she left an incredibly positive impact on those around her . . . Her goodness lives on. It is also a story of determination, willpower, and instilling a 'never give up' attitude in all that you do. The future can turn out okay with an angel riding on your shoulders. Her first book, Never Give Up on Tomorrow, is a children's book about losing a sibling and all the things your family does to move ahead and continue to live. It is told through the eyes of her youngest son Kyle and is heartfelt and inspiring. Andrea's hope is that it helps other families who find themselves in the same place as the Brandt family. They are living proof that surviving children can go on to live successful and happy lives.

Chapter 1

The fairy tale

The world stopped turning on November 17, 2004. Life as I knew it stopped and I would never be the same. This is the day my nightmare began, but the beginning of my story started much earlier.

The way we were . . .

I am the youngest of five girls, from an extremely close Irish-Italian family. If I learned nothing else in my childhood, I learned that my family would always be there for me. I once attended a workshop where we were supposed to reflect on our own lives and think of three things we learned in childhood that we carried through our adult life. Although many people struggled with the question, I found it quite easy to answer. (1) Family comes first. Trust those you hold dear. (2) Be yourself. And (3) you can do anything, and don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t. I never knew how much these values were intertwined in my everyday life, but now as I look back, I am proud that I passed on these same values to my four children. I believe all these things have saved my life . . .

My husband Gary’s childhood was very different from mine. Where my family was loud, boisterous, and open with their emotions, Gary’s was quiet and passive. He is the youngest of two children, with one sister who is four years older than him. He has some cousins that he spent time with when they were younger. I was surrounded by four sisters, many cousins, and a large extended family. Family functions always packed the house. My family hugged and kissed upon arrival. His family was much more reserved. Our family dynamics were different, and my family brought out a sentimental, emotional side of Gary that his own family might have never known about. Still, we both knew our parents loved us very much, and our children were very lucky to have two sets of grandparents who loved them unconditionally.

I grew up, went to college, met and married my best friend Gary, and together we made a life that created enough good memories to carry us through a lifetime.

TheBrandts

The life Gary and I built was perfect. We were young when we got married, bought our first house, got our first yellow lab, and started our family. Gretchen was born on March 29, 1988. I could have picked her out of 100 babies in the hospital. She looked exactly like Gary, and she now shared his initials, GMB. Our first son Joey was born in 1990, then Troy in 1992. Our youngest son, Kyle, was born in 1994, when Gretchen was 6 years old. Our family was complete with our four children and our yellow lab Dexter.

Our friends saw me as a mom and teacher who loved being around children. Our friends saw Gary as a gentle giant, quiet and laid back, but maybe a bit intimidating being 6’4”. They knew him as a family man who would do anything for anyone. He could fix anything or come up with a solution for any problem. I have always known him as a strong, dependable guy who I would always be able to count on and someone who loved us all through the good, the bad, and the ugly. He was and always has been my best friend and my children were lucky to have such an attentive, involved dad. We needed all these sides of Gary in the rough