Sunshower

by Karen Smith Kenyon

Sunshower is the story of a journey through a human experiencesurviving the loss of a love by suicide, and the return of hope. Much has been written about why someone would take his or her life, and about the prevention of suicide, but there is little recorded to throw light on what it is like to endure such a dramatic severing. Sunshower begins with a portrait of Karen and Dick Kenyon's early marriage, the birth of their son, Richard, the birth and death of a baby daughter, Johanna. Then on November 3, 1978, Dick did not come home from work; instead, without warning, he took his own life. The author charts her grief process, her awareness, her questions and turmoil, and her eventual path back to life and love. Sunshower is a mystery story in the sense that life is a mystery. It is told through the eyes of one person, but all our struggles and joys are somehow one. We all love, we all lose. Surviving after suicide is only a dramatic metaphor for survival of any kind. Every day we live we are choosing life, creating life. Symbolically a sunshower is the union of sadness and joy, of rain clouds and of light. The sunshowers of our lives are our releases and baptisms into new life. This book, though it deals with and faces death, is most importantly about life and about love. Sunshower is the story of loss, but it is also a story of transformation and rebirth. Karen Kenyon has written a remarkably honest account in SUNSHOWER. In writing of a harrowing experience, she has avoided both self-pitying sentimentality and hidden angers. It is a valuable -- if not priceless --addition to the literature of suicide. Harold Greenwald, Ph.D. August 6, 1981 "...we do a tremendous amount of suicide prevention work and I'm sure your contribution in the form of this book will help many people."

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Susan McBeth (Adventures by the Book) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen Kenyon relies on beautiful poetic prose to share the heartbreaking tale of losing her husband to suicide. She is raw, vulnerable, and honest, and the reader grieves along with her and then roots for her as she learns to slowly reclaim her life after her tragic loss.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a genre I normally would have read, but I know the author and wanted to read her work. Beautifully written--wonderful insights on life and loss and letting go.