A conversation with Bri Edwards, author of A Thousand Pounds
What led you to writing your book?
I’ve had a lot of people over the years tell me, “You should write a book.” I liked the idea and always thought it would be something I would do, but the death of a child is such a big story. I couldn’t quite figure out how I would frame that, or which parts of the story I would tell, or who exactly my audience would be, so it remained just an abstract idea for a long time.
Then one day I was talking to my cousin, who said to me “Oh yeah, I had a dream last night that you were writing your third book.”
I laughed, because I didn’t really have a solid plan for one, let alone three, and asked her, “You didn’t happen to catch a title and an outline, did you?”
She said, “Not exactly, but one of them was called A Thousand Pounds.”
And as soon as I had a working title as a spine for the story, the book immediately came to me, and I had it outlined by later that day.
Who is your audience? Who do you serve?
Primarily those who are grieving the loss of a child and the people who are wanting to support them. I think it resonates for anyone who is grieving though.
What was the writing process like for you?
Every time I brought this to prayer, I felt very much that writing this book was not to interfere with the rest of family life. Usually when I decide to take on a project, I want to jump in with both feet and do it all at once, so despite my desires to just get it done, I worked to be obedient to that call to keep the writing as something that happened in the background. So, I wrote most of this story a half an hour at a time in the mornings before the kids would wake up. Not the most efficient way to write a book!
How do you hope your book makes others feel?
I hope it helps those who are grieving find some language for their experience, to feel affirmed in the wild emotions that come with grief, to feel that sorrow and joy can live hand-in-hand, and mostly to feel a love that transcends time, space, and death. I hope that those who are accompanying someone who is grieving can get a glimpse into the mind of someone who is grieving such an enormous loss, and understand more of the unspoken experience of grieving the loss of a child.
Have you felt God’s presence throughout your story?
Yes! This has been one of the most affirming parts of walking through this project. God has left his fingerprints all over in the writing of this book.
What God Things have been placed in your path to guide the way? (God Things are people, places, and events that land in your path, pointing you toward God when you least expect it.)
As I was nearing the end of getting the story all down, and starting to study things like “how to find a literary agent,” I had a sudden idea for another book and on a whim sent an email to Dr. Greg Bottaro, the founder of the CatholicPsych Institute to consider co-writing it with me. In hindsight, I’m just a relatively unknown girl from South Dakota and I really had no business emailing him with such a proposal. I felt a little silly that I did it after it was done…but then he emailed me back, asked me some more questions, which eventually led to me sharing a few sample chapters of what I had written. It turns out, they were just launching a publishing press and were looking for authors to partner with. In his words, “Providential?”
Then the publishing team found an editor, and as we had been working through cleaning up the manuscript together, she was reading a part where I talk about how dragonflies have become an important symbol for us in remembering Lachlan. She told me that dragonflies were important in her life too, and she said, “The company I work for is called Dragonfly Editorial.” Providential?
What have been your biggest hurdles or challenges? How are you working to overcome them?
Being patient with the process! Continuing to bring the process to prayer helps a ton in trusting God’s plan to write this story slowly, and in being able to be patient with the slow process of getting a book ready to send into the world.
Where can your book be found? It is available on Amazon. Check out our Lach’s Legacy website www.lachslegacy.org for more information on other outlets.
Brianne Edwards is the founder of Lach’s Legacy, a South Dakota nonprofit working to support those who are grieving the unexpected loss of an infant. Her work has been featured by Her View From Home, Scary Mommy, and Praying Through Child Loss. Inspired by her personal experience of profound loss, she has found her ministry in accompanying other families in their grief, coming to the table with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, a Master’s degree as a Physician Assistant, and a Compassionate Bereavement Care Certification. She is the mother of 6, married to her high school sweetheart, nestled in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.
Originally published in Gritty Faith Volume 15.