I’ve been pinching myself all week (and not sleeping well) as my book, An Obesity of Grief: A Journey from Traumatic Loss to Undying Love, is now in production mode. Edits are complete, and now we’re deciding on a cover design.
Help us decide by clicking on this link: Koehler Books Cover Poll. (I promise it’s not click bait or spam!). Scroll down to my book and click on your favorite!
As a thank you, here’s an excerpt from the book. (FYI, Lisa is my friend and was my roommate at the time. Carlene is Bruce’s and my daughter, and she was a few months old.)
(July 1983) I need to get my shit together and stop crying over the dumbest things. Last weekend, when Lisa was in Jasper, my brother Matthew came over with a joint. Carlene was asleep for the night, so we sat on the deck and smoked. Usually pot makes me feel mellow and happy, and it did until we went inside and started watching MTV, and the video for Journey’s “Separate Ways” came on. I sang along as tears fell down my face.
“What’s wrong?” Matthew asked.
“I . . . I . . . sometimes feel like we were nothing, you know? Like we were just playing house.”
Matthew started to cry, too. Having been raised in an atmosphere of potential rejection, we both found solace in Bruce’s unwavering acceptance. And with Bruce, Matthew also experienced the kind of familial rapport he’d witnessed between many of his friends and their brothers. Inside jokes and late-night talks with his brother-in-law were more than Matthew would ever have with his own brother.
Right now, I don’t know what’s crueler—losing something beautiful or never having it at all?
“Why did this have to happen?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, and we ate from the bowl of peanut M&Ms, crying quietly until the last chord.
Lynn Haraldson, Writer 
Congratulations, Lynn. I’m very excited for you and to read the book.
Thank you! Of course I’ll let you know when it comes out 🙂 Looking forward to knowing what you think.
Congratulations. Such an accomplishment!
Thank you, Alanna! It has definitely been years in the making 🙂
I like the black cover. It’s different. Stands out. Intriguing. I want to know who are those people and what happened to them
Thank you, Janet. That’s such an interesting take on that cover. I hadn’t thought about it that way.
Congratulations on finishing your book! It sounds like such an interesting read. I’ve followed you for years, so I know something about your life story, and I’m looking forward to reading it. I like both covers, but the cover with the photo probably piques my interest more. Like another person commented, I’m interested in the people on the cover. What happened to them? If I didn’t know the story, I might wonder what obesity had to do with it. The solitary flower speaks to me, too, because it seems so alone in stark contrast to the black behind it. Is it a sign of hope? Is it a sign of strength? Does it have significance for the characters? What does it mean? Anyway, the black cover really draws me in. That said, I’d read the book with either cover, but someone who was unfamiliar with your story might be more drawn in by the photo.
Thank you, Vicki! I know you’ve been with me a long time; I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated your feedback and comments over the years 🙂 Ultimately, the choice is up to my publisher, but I agree, that flower kind of slays me. Speaks to the grief.
This was hard. I liked the one with the picture more, but then thought if I were looking at a shelf of books that the larger words might catch my attention better. Either way I look forward to reading it.
Thanks, Jill. I think you’re right, that the large print stands out and perhaps might grab potential readers’ attention.
There is no question here. The cover on the right is the winner. Knowing the story, the cover on the right sums it all up subtly. The artwork also leads the reader into the story. Literally.
[I offer that having approved more than 250 book covers (including my own) during my career.]