Excerpt:
It had been over six months since Fred left this good earth. I still looked for him around corners. I still expected him to be sitting, waiting for me outside the bookstore at the mall, but he wasn’t. I often relaxed in one of our two lawn chairs I’d placed under the pines at the back of the half-acre; the pines swaying green and tall against the blue sky. Out of habit, I’d lean over to the other chair, but Fred wasn’t there either.
It was time to let go of the thought I would ever see him again on this earth. Or hear his laughter. Or watch him grin and wiggle his ears the way he used to. It was facing reality and letting go that hurt so much. But I believed that only through letting go could I get through the deepest pain of loss and begin to heal. And only when I was truly healed, could I refill my life with all the good memories, all the new hopes and new beginnings.
Reviewed by Behcet Kaya
August 2009
Miracle Cottage is a story that will make one weep, both in sadness and in joy. It is the story of how Arlene went on with her life after her husband's death from lung cancer. She did not let her grief and pain of loss take over her life, but instead she proceeded to carry out the dream of building the cottage she and Fred had planned. And she built the cottage by herself, with God's love and Fred's memory. Now isn't that an inspiration to all of us? Arlene Webster was my mother-in-law and her life was a great inspiration to me. I miss her still, miss our great conversations, her love and her wisdom. I miss her columns in the Destin Log and other newspapers. I encouraged my wife to put together the story of Miracle Cottage and it took over a year to go through all of the writings, diaries, magazine articles, newspaper articles and all the notes and reciepts left from building, but the end result is truly a beautiful, heart-warming story.
