Imagine Emma

Book excerpt: Every year, 2,200 families in Canada experience the loss of a child under the age of fifteen. Twenty-five years after the sudden death of his two-year-old daughter, Emma, Rick Johnston has written Imagine Emma: A Father’s Grief Journey as a life-affirming book to support other parents who have joined the “fraternity of the unthinkable.” Written in straightforward, easy-to-follow language, Johnston offers guidance, comfort, and hope to parents during a time when the grief of losing a child feels completely overwhelming. Key to Johnston’s learnings is that the heart and the mind often follow their own, separate timelines. Each person will experience this journey differently. Imagine Emma concludes with suggestions for how to honour your lost child in ways that will keep their memory alive and fill you with more deep love and joy than you might think possible.