Therapy done by the book
Nine-year-old Lauren Taylor writes a book to remember her late brother.
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Nine-year-old Lauren Taylor paints a kids-eye view of grief, hope and faith in a children’s book she wrote with the help of her dad.
The illustrated book recalls the life of her 3-year-old brother, Drew Michael Taylor, his tragic death in a 2006 car crash during a beach vacation and the young boy’s place in Heaven.
“I Miss My Brother” was published in July for two prime reasons, Randy Taylor says: to provide help for others who grieve for similar reasons and to raise money for the Drew Michael Taylor Foundation’s mission to help area children.
Lauren says writing the book also served as therapy in his family’s ongoing grief.
She says her modest fame has not changed her life.
“Sometimes at school, the kids will yell, ‘Hey, Lauren, I saw you on the news’ or ‘Hey, Lauren, I saw you in the paper,’ but that’s all,” she says.
She feels sadness as she reads “I Miss My Brother,” but she thinks the book could be helpful for others who have lost a loved one.
“Reading the book is OK in the beginning, but when I get to the accident, I feel sad,” Lauren says. “I hope reading it helps other people know that they’re not the only ones who feel the way they do.”
Randy Taylor says the idea of a book developed over a period of months as he kept journal notes about his daughter’s conversations about her little brother.
“I organized the notes and talked more with Lauren later, and I got the thought that there’s a book here than might help others.”
Taylor says “I Miss My Brother” is his daughter’s story.
“It’s her thoughts and words, the story she told over time, All I did was organize it,” he explains.
The 52-page book is enhanced by expressive illustrations by 2008 Chambersburg high school graduate Holly Rothrock.
Lauren’s mother, Marcie, says they got the first copies of the book in July and sold 56 copies at Shippensburg’s Corn Festival on the last Saturday of August.
“Many of the sales are to people who are buying it for someone they know who has experienced a similar loss,” Marcie Taylor says.
