Lyrics of a Broken Heart: A Father's Journey Toward Wholeness

In Lyrics of a Broken Heart James Mueller writes: The loss of Luke was dissociating and unhinging. I was groping in the darkness in sadness with no sense of how to move forward in a life without my son. The writing was the key to my sanity. As I continued to write I discovered I was creating a pathway through grief toward emotional wholeness.Turning his private journaling into a book Mueller shares with the reader the deepest emotions a father can experience from the loss of his child. Through lyric prose he plumbs the depth of his journey from devastating loss to emotional recovery. The experience of loss can be so potent we may compartmentalize our emotions--as the author reflects in The Cavern of My Lament.Speaking in a voice that is honest raw soft and vulnerable he lays bare his world inviting us to feel to embrace to trust our own process without judgment. In doing so we discover our pathway our own authentic journey.What Others Have to Say...Lyrics of a Broken Heartis nothing less than a lamentation coming from the depths of a broken spirit over a fathers loss of his son. Its not often that males allow others especially strangers to witness their raw emotions but Mueller does so in this short volume. -- Ron Hamel PhD Theologian/EthicistThis book is amazing--so devastating in the beginning and then so filled with light and hope at the end. Everyone who has suffered a loss should read it! -- Lynn Meister MD Medical Director Pediatric Palliative Care Team Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist Joe DiMaggio Childrens HospitalThis book addresses often-overlooked aspects of parenting: a fathers perspective and love for his child. Jim Muellers insights and reflections are worth their weight in gold. This short book is packed with words of wisdom for all dads and especially those who may have a child with special needs. -- David Hirsch President 21st Century Dads Foundation and host of the Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad PodcastJim Mueller aptly describes his pieces as lyrics of a broken heart. The vulnerability on these pages about the process of grieving will forge a pathway from heart to heart and create a shared connection of understanding and deep humanity. This beautiful book will let you know that no matter how deep your grief you are not alone in this world. Its a beautiful and necessary book that ultimately offers healing and hope. -- Donna Gephart award-winning author of Lily & Dunkin In Your Shoes and The Paris ProjectJim Muellers heart-wrenching account of the loss of his son is a stunning and soulful expression of the ultimate interpersonal loss that can be experienced by human beings. It reflects not only the sad journey that was taken by Jim Margot and Lili and Jessica but is also a tribute to Lukes bright spirit humor and ability to maintain an amazing family cohesiveness. Jim as a loving father and devoted friend to Luke has captured the essence of human devotion love hope and emotional pain that only a parent can experience. Lyrics of a Broken Heart is mandatory reading for any parent who has experienced the loss of a child. -- Robert Shumaker PhD Clinical Psychologist