Brooke's Journey of Heart is the story of a daughter who lives each day with the disabilities delivered with her at birth and the mother who gave birth to her. Beverly Charles asked her daughter, Brooke Klemme, if she would like to write her story of living with Spina Bifida. Brooke responded, "Yes There are two sides to every story." Brooke and Beverly show us both sides of their story in the context of faith, family, and friends. In 1971, more than 6000 American children were born with Spina Bifida, but like most people, Beverly Charles knew nothing about this condition until she gave birth to her third and last child. In this touching memoir co-authored by Charles and her daughter Brooke Klemme, we learn first-hand not only what it means, but what it feels like - to raise a disabled child, to watch her suffer and triumph, and to be that child, who now as an adult, tells her side of the story. Most parents will never have to answer this question - should your new baby live? For Brooke's mother, there was only one answer, an answer that would involve multiple surgical procedures, interminable hospital stays, and an army of doctors and therapists - an answer that would change her and her family forever. This book is a spiritual memoir and a medical one. The authors make connections with Eastern and Western religious practices that have seen them through difficult and joyous times for over four decades. Their story transcends the personal to offer hope and help to other parents who have faced the same hard question and who, like Beverly and Brooke, answer "YES." As one reader said, "I loved it. I laughed, cried, got mad, got sad, and now feel like a part of your family."

In How I Discovered My Mother Was A Goddess, Beverly Charles, tells the poignant story of aging and dementia from the point of view of both the parent and child. At some times troubling and other times darkly comic, it provides a vision of a spiritual journey, one that is healing, authentic, and satisfying. In addition to offering us the story of a mother and daughter as they struggle with old age and death, Beverly moves more deeply into the psyche to understand the goddesses at work in herself and her mother during the various phases of life. We journey through the author's and her mother's relationship to each other and to eight goddesses - Artemis, Hestia, Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Persephone, Hera, and Mary. By taking us on this odyssey with her, she not only deepens our understanding of the feminine and the goddesses that personify it, but reveals how these goddesses manifest in everyday life. This story enhances our understanding of the divine feminine. This book is for all those who have loved ones experiencing any form of dementia - as our intellectual connection diminishes, may we become more connected in our hearts. This book is also for women and the men who love them - may we never be ashamed of the journey that brings us home to the goddess within.

Brooke's Journey of Heart is the story of a daughter who lives each day with the disabilities delivered with her at birth and the mother who gave birth to her. Beverly Charles asked her daughter, Brooke Klemme, if she would like to write her story of living with Spina Bifida. Brooke responded, "Yes There are two sides to every story." Brooke and Beverly show us both sides of their story in the context of faith, family, and friends. In 1971, more than 6000 American children were born with Spina Bifida, but like most people, Beverly Charles knew nothing about this condition until she gave birth to her third and last child. In this touching memoir co-authored by Charles and her daughter Brooke Klemme, we learn first-hand not only what it means, but what it feels like - to raise a disabled child, to watch her suffer and triumph, and to be that child, who now as an adult, tells her side of the story. Most parents will never have to answer this question - should your new baby live? For Brooke's mother, there was only one answer, an answer that would involve multiple surgical procedures, interminable hospital stays, and an army of doctors and therapists - an answer that would change her and her family forever. This book is a spiritual memoir and a medical one. The authors make connections with Eastern and Western religious practices that have seen them through difficult and joyous times for over four decades. Their story transcends the personal to offer hope and help to other parents who have faced the same hard question and who, like Beverly and Brooke, answer "YES." As one reader said, "I loved it. I laughed, cried, got mad, got sad, and now feel like a part of your family."

In How I Discovered My Mother Was A Goddess, Beverly Charles, tells the poignant story of aging and dementia from the point of view of both the parent and child. At some times troubling and other times darkly comic, it provides a vision of a spiritual journey, one that is healing, authentic, and satisfying. In addition to offering us the story of a mother and daughter as they struggle with old age and death, Beverly moves more deeply into the psyche to understand the goddesses at work in herself and her mother during the various phases of life. We journey through the author's and her mother's relationship to each other and to eight goddesses - Artemis, Hestia, Aphrodite, Athena, Demeter, Persephone, Hera, and Mary. By taking us on this odyssey with her, she not only deepens our understanding of the feminine and the goddesses that personify it, but reveals how these goddesses manifest in everyday life. This story enhances our understanding of the divine feminine. This book is for all those who have loved ones experiencing any form of dementia - as our intellectual connection diminishes, may we become more connected in our hearts. This book is also for women and the men who love them - may we never be ashamed of the journey that brings us home to the goddess within.