Our dear friend and Edible Columbus writer Carole Amber has overcome immense tragedy in recent years. Now, channeling the resilience that saw her through the darkest hours, Carole will proudly release a children's book in loving memory of her son, TJ, who lived for 14 short, beautiful months - enough to inspire Carole and her husband Troy to live fully, love deeply and give thanks for every blessing that came their way.
The Gift of the Ladybug is built upon a vision that came to Carole on a most harrowing day. In it, she imagined parents - loving horses - and their ladybug child who lived a brief but brilliant life. Carole took comfort in the ideas, transforming them first into a story to read to her son and most recently, into a published children's book for all to treasure.
The official release date for The Gift of the Ladybug is this Saturday, January 28 -- TJ's birthday. Friends, neighbors and businesses citywide are coming together to support Carole and her story, hoping to sell 500 copies through Amazon at www.giftoftheladybug.com, both to honor TJ and to raise funds for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, an organization working towards a cure for Leigh Syndrome, a rare disease that typically appears in infants.
Pistacia Vera in the German Village will host a launch day celebration from 7am-7pm, providing a reveal of the book and offering a $5 gift card to the shop for anyone who orders the book on premesis. Carole and Troy will visit Pistacia Vera from 9am until noon on Saturday, giving away five free books and chatting with visitors about the story and their journey.
On launch day only, local companies for UMDF will match $1 per book sold. An additional $1 per book will be donated by Carole and Troy to organizations researching UMDF nationwide.
Knowing their story will help children and parents cope with similar situations of loss and understanding, copies of The Gift of the Ladybug are available to donate to children facing life threatening illness through the charitable organizations Bobby's Books and A Kid Again on www.giftoftheladybug.com.
For Carole, releasing the book will help a healing process come full circle.
"Not only did The Gift of the Ladybug provide comfort to me and my family when we needed it most, but it helped us reframe how we looked at our circumstances," says Carole. "When times got hard, we embodied the story. We would remind ourselves that TJ was our ladybug and that he could never be a horse."
As she is an integral part of our Edible community, we are proud of Carole's accomplishments and all the heart she poured into her children's book, one that will bring comfort to everyone it reaches.
