Kathleen Ho - Living Forward After Loss: Rebuilding Your Life After Losing Your Life Partner

Living
Forward
after Loss

Rebuilding Your Life after
Losing Your Life Partner

KATHLEEN HO

LIVING FORWARD AFTER LOSS

REBUILDING YOUR LIFE AFTER
LOSING YOUR LIFE PARTNER

Copyright 2020 Kathleen Ho.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-8351-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-8349-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-8350-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020900465

iUniverse rev. date: 02/05/2020

In loving memory of my beloved soul mate, David Bigby.

Acknowledgments

ACCESS Family: Thank you all of my colleagues at Alternative, Community, and Correctional Education Schools and Services (ACCESS) for your love and care. Vern, La Day, Teri, Erica E, Erica N, Brian Linn, Tuong Ngo, Mike, James Chapman, Erik, Elizabeth, Janet, Ashley, Tara, Jill, Santiago, Lisa, Leslie, Michelle Cortex, Michelle Hollis, Leticia, and many more, you are such great support.

ACT Students: Thank you all of my students at the Academic Center of Tustin (ACT). Rony, Angel, Jose, Angie, Natalie, Artin, Kaleb, Salvador, Alan, Alexandra, Isaac, Joshua, Jonathon, Darcy, Andrew, Jesus, Gio, Jacob, Cynthia, and many more, it has been fun and joyful to work with you. Thank you for loving me and believing in me. I love you all and believe in you too. May all the former, current, and future students of ACT and ACCESS continue growing and becoming useful and responsible citizens.

Adriana McCarty: You are such a great person with a warm heart. Thank you for walking along with me during my agonizing journey and our challenging but rewarding year to save our Toastmasters club. You had lightened my load when the pain was too much for me to bear.

Albert and Alicia: Thank you for being great friends of David and me. You had always been there for David during his last five months on Earth. And you have continuously supported me since he was gone. I could not stand up on my two own feet without both of you. I love you both, and I am thankful for having both of you in my life.

All Nations Toastmasters Club: I am proud to be a part of this Toastmasters club. Adriana, Erin, Keith, Ron, Adalid, Asif, Sergio, Nadine, Andy, Lourdes, Julio, Judy, David, Chuck, Jason, Kate, Jazmin, Claudia, it is my honor and pleasure to walk with all of you the journey of practicing public speaking and leadership skills. I appreciate each of you for believing in me. I firmly believe each of you was born with a particular purpose in this world. May all of the former, current, and future members of this club continue to shine and bring a positive impact to the world.

Andy : Thank you for supporting David and me financially after David had a stroke. I am grateful for your love and care for David.

Anthony Fuller : Thank you for coming to my life and accept me as who I truly am. Your love and care lift me and brings a lot of joy to my life.

Arcee : From the moment we met at S1S summer school in 2016, we have shared the pain of losing our loved ones (my David and your mom). Thank you for waking along with me on the journey to rebuild our lives after this tremendous loss.

Ashley W: I enjoy working with you every Tuesday and Thursday at ACT. Thank you for always listening to me without any judgment during my painful time.

Asif Hussaini : Thank you for your caring and support. Your gift, the book titled Option B, has motivated me to work through my loss. And thank you for showing me how to be an effective leader .

Barbara and George Haddad: Barbara, you have become my good friend and mentor since my first day at ACCESS. You have always supported me at my hard times and celebrated my every success. I am so blessed to have George and you in my life.

Beverly and Leticia : You are two beautiful ladies, in and outside. Since we first met at ACCESS, you both have always supported and believed in me. I am grateful for having a great friendship with both of you.

Bernida and Kenny : You are wonderful neighbors who have cared for David and me. You had helped me to fight for Davids life. And you have continued to support me after his death.

Boys and Girls Club of Tustin (California) : Carmen, Shandra, Harry, Antonio, Susanna, Tara, Cindy, Bryan, Ben, and many more, thank you for your help, either for my ACT students or for me. Your welcoming and friendly smiles make my day every day. Carmen, Harry, and Shandra, I appreciate three of you for always taking your time to listen to me whenever the grief hits me.

Chante and Tina : Thank you for taking your time off to fly from Ohio to California to visit David before his passing. And thank you again for your unconditional love for David.

Cristina : You have always cared for and supported me since we worked together at the S1S Summer school in 2015. You had allowed me to lean on you so I could gain strength to walk through my darkest time. Thank you so much my beautiful friend.

Edgewater nursing home (Long Beach, California): Special thank you to all staff of Edgewater for taking care of David during his hospitalization time. Thank you again for your continuing support to me after Davids passing.

Erica Lopez : My dear friend, thank you for helping me to edit the first chapter of this book. You are such a supportive and caring person. You have always stood by my side whenever I face the rough time.

Erin and Keith Ramachandran : Thank you for your love and care. Erin, you have always cared for my feelings and comforted me whenever I am down. I also appreciate you both for taking the time to help me come up with an excellent title for this book. And you have walked me through the process of publishing this book. I could not do it without both of you.

Gerri O : You are such a sweet and caring person. You have always cared for me by being patient and willing to listen to me whenever I need to release my sorrow.

Hospitals : Thank you, doctors, nurses, and other staff of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Community Hospital of Long Beach, and Los Alamitos Hospital for taking good care of my late David. Your hugs and support had given me the strength to go through the most painful time of my life.

iUniverse Team: Special thank you to the exceptional iUniverse team for helping me through the process of publishing this book. Michael, Vinnia, Kelly, Leo, Editorial team, design team, and marketing team, you have all been super supportive, kind, and helpful. It is an honor and a pleasure to work with you. Thank you once more time, and I wish all of you the best in personal and professional endeavors.

Jill Grabowski and Scott Hogan: Thank you for taking your weekend time to help me with my book. Jill, from the moment we met, you have become my great friend. You have helped me unconditionally and continuously so I can become a better communicator . I love you, Jill.