⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐Love on the Shelf by Sheila Roberts #RomanticComedy

Love on the Shelf, an enemies to lovers romcom, chronicles a battle of the sexes between a misogynist radio personality turned shock jock and the owner of a romance bookstore...

The battle lines are drawn—between a romance-loving bookseller and the shock jock determined to tear happily-ever-afters apart.

Alice Willoughby and her mom run HEA Books, a cozy shop devoted to love stories and the people who crave them. Alice is great at matching customers with their perfect happily-ever-after…she just can’t seem to find her own.

Enter Parker Black, a disillusioned radio host who’s reinvented himself as a romance-bashing shock jock. Bitter from his breakup with a romance author who turned love into a four-letter word, Parker takes aim at the entire genre—and his on-air rants start stirring up trouble for Alice’s loyal customers and their partners. He’s arrogant, aggravating, and absolutely not book-boyfriend material.

Parker’s crusade leads to spirited debates and bookstore protests, but when unexpected sparks fly between the two of them Alice begins to wonder if her favorite trope—enemies to lovers—might actually be playing out in real life. Parker may claim romance is a lie…but is he protesting a little too much?

With sharp wit and plenty of charm, USA Today bestselling author Sheila Roberts delivers a modern battle of the sexes where the biggest question is simple:

Are romance novels ruining love—or rewriting it?

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: Romance
• Sub-genre: Romantic Comedy
• Language:English
• Pages: 336
• Paperback ISBN: ‎ 978-0778305828

Love on the Shelf is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

“Sparkles with warmth, wit, and a sweet helping of holiday charm! The perfect stocking stuffer for readers who crave all the holiday feels and a happy ending!” —Rachel Linden, bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie on The Merry Matchmaker


"The Best Life Book Club is your book club book of the year...with her trademark wit and warmth, Sheila Roberts delivers a story nestled inside a story, a novel of pure delight! —Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times Bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea on The Best Life Book Club


"Sheila Roberts makes me laugh...and come away inspired, hopeful and happy." —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

╰┈➤Read if you love…

💕⃝🕊️ 💕⃝🕊️🥀Fun Romance Fiction

👱🏻‍♀️Romance Loving Booksellers

💪Shock Jocks

⋆.˚🦋༘⋆Happily Ever After

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･RomComs

Excerpt:

CHAPTER 1

GOOD GRIEF, ALICE, you’ve got to stop hiding in books. Wake up and see what’s going on around you.”

Alice Willoughby frowned at her older sister. Scarlet had always been a little bossy. Which was hardly surprising, since bossing was what older sisters did, even when they were only two years older. But this was . . . bossy plus. Not nice.

“It’s bad enough that beast king is turning men into lemmings with his stupid radio show and podcast, but now he’s trying to take down your business. You should be going after him,” Scarlet informed her.

“My business?” Alice repeated. “He’s said stuff about the store?”

“He might as well have.”

Scarlet was heated, Alice got that. Parker Black, radio personality and host of the popular radio talk show Jock Talk, had evolved into Parker Black, woman hater. He’d been using his platform to encourage men to quit being, as he put it, doormats. She’d heard some of their customers complaining about him. They were becoming upset as their boyfriends and husbands

began following him for more than his sports commentary. He was the new champion of American males.

Scarlet’s husband Mark was turning into a Parker Black lemming, going out with the guys after work whenever the spirit moved . . . or the spirits called, and spending what he referred to as his money, money he was goaded to spend because he worked hard and deserved it. All talk of starting a family

had been put on hold because their love life was paused, and their marriage of three years was circling the drain.

“You’ve got to do something,” Scarlet repeated as if Alice hadn’t heard her when she first blew into the bookstore.“Now he’s dissing romance novels.”

“I didn’t know anything about that,” Alice said.

Scarlet did the eye roll of disgust she’d perfected by the time she was eleven. “Of course you didn’t, because you hide in here all day and talk about living happily ever after with dukes and dragon trainers.”

Alice could feel embarrassment draping itself over her face like a red flag. But she rallied. “It seems to me you’ve been showing up for a lot of those happily-ever-after conversations when your

book club meets here.”

“Those are historical and we’re learning about history,” Scarlet said, sounding like a total snob. She was a regular at the Back in Time book club, one of four that met at the store.

“You’ve been known to be seen hanging out with the Chili Peppers a few times, too,” said Alice.

That group liked their books smutty and their heroes smexy. Two other book clubs besides those two met at the store, which, in addition to author signings, kept Alice busy most nights. The Closed-Door

Club preferred sweet romances and Darkness and Dragons was all about dark fantasy. Alice sat

in on all the club meetings, selling them books and passing out home-baked treats. 

She didn’t read much of what the Chili Peppers read. When she wanted to escape it was usually into another time, where women wore beautiful gowns and lived on large estates. Where men fought duels, and words of love rolled off their tongues like poetry. But she also enjoyed a good contemporary story, especially if the hero was a millionaire. With a yacht. And a little getaway place in Italy. She was a closed-door girl, preferring love scenes that faded to black like a classic movie. Although she’d been known to give in to the temptation to peek through a keyhole or two . . . and wish. Like she did with every book she read. Sighs and yearnings. Happily-ever-afters. Sighs and yearning, that summed up her love life. Actually, nonexistent summed it up much better.

“Okay, so I like spice,” Scarlet said. “So, sue me. But we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about what this man is doing to you. To all of us.”

“I don’t know what you expect me to do. I’m trying to run a business,” Alice protested. Even though she was only half owner, HEA Books took up all her time and energy. “Anyway,

one angry man isn’t going to affect the bookstore. Almost all our customers are women.”

“Well, Parker Black is affecting men and they’re affecting your customers. Like me! That’s why you need to take this guy on, to fight on behalf of women,” said Scarlet. “This man is a two-legged

virus. He needs to be eradicated.”

“Why don’t you take him on?” Alice argued.

“Because I don’t have the clout you do. You’re the expert on romance.”

On books about romance. There was a big difference.

About the Author

USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-selling author Sheila Roberts has written over fifty books under various names, ranging from romance to devotional and self-improvement. Her humor and heart have won her a legion of fans and made her a popular guest speaker. Her holiday novels have been turned into movies for the Lifetime, Hallmark and Great American Family channels. When she’s not out dancing with her husband or hanging out with her girlfriends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends and chocolate.

Visit her website at www.sheilasplace.com. 

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Sheila-Roberts-100044180452595/ 

╰┈➤Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheilarobertswriter/?hl=en 

╰┈➤BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sheila-roberts  

╰┈➤TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sheilarobertswriter 

Sponsored By:

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Good Mother Test by Michael R. French #ContemporaryWomensFiction

 A gripping work of contemporary fiction exploring modern motherhood, ambition, and identity…

When Emily, a bright but impulsive UCLA student, gives birth to her daughter Violet, she vows to be the kind of mother she never had: endlessly loving and fiercely protective. But single motherhood is a test with no right answers.

As Violet grows into a gifted and unpredictable child, Emily’s instinct-driven parenting collides with a world obsessed with achievement, social expectations, and expert advice. When Violet’s father, Doug, reenters her life — now in a relationship with Amanda Hoenig, a respected family therapist unable to have children of her own — an uneasy triangle begins to form. What starts as an amicable co-parenting arrangement turns into a psychological tug-of-war over Violet’s future. Emily’s intuition and Amanda’s professional authority clash in living rooms, classrooms, and finally courtrooms, as everyone insists they are fighting for the same thing: what is best for the child. Violet has her own opinions about this.

Told in two voices — first Emily’s, then Violet’s as she comes of age — The Good Mother Test is a gripping work of contemporary fiction exploring modern motherhood, ambition, and identity. Fans of Little Fires Everywhere and The School for Good Mothers will be drawn to its emotional depth and moral complexity.

Read sample here.

The Good Mother Test is available at Amazon.

 

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
• Sub-genre: Literary Fiction/Psychological Fiction
• Language:English
• Pages: 315
• Paperback ISBN: 978-1948749909
•  

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

“…A highly readable, relatable novel about ordinary people interacting, clashing, and blending their lives in however a messy or successful manner they can, and will attract readers interested in the psychological dovetailing of family and relationship-building which all boils down to luck and trust. These elements move full circle to guide characters and readers in an unexpected journey towards new beginnings and hope, making for a hard-hitting, satisfying read.” — Midwest Book Review

╰┈➤Read if you love…

⃝Emotionally Gripping

Thought Provoking

⃝Heartfelt

Page Turner

⃝Psychologically Complex

Book Club Worthy

Excerpt:

Cedars-Sinai, arguably the most luxurious and respected hospital in L.A., was waiting for Emily. Under a moonless sky, Doug seemed to be steering an Army assault vehicle, not a vintage Mercedes — honking, flicking his high beams, and clenching his teeth whenever he passed a car. Was he praying for luck or simply exuding courage? Emily wondered. He was navigating Beverly Boulevard like he'd just held up a bank. Emily was slouched in the passenger seat, the baby inside her kicking.

She glanced at Doug. "Slow down, please."

"Steady as she goes," he said, eyes glued to the traffic flow.

"I don't want to kill our baby."

Doug smiled patiently. "I should have taken you to the hospital half an hour ago, when your water broke. I don't know why you resisted."

"My bad. I wanted to finish watching the last five minutes of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

"Seriously? Why take chances?"

"I wasn't ready, Doug. I'm still not."

She didn't have the strength to explain in a hundred words or less to a man she wasn't married to that she wasn't sure about her future, say, beyond the next year or two. She was in flux. Recently, her thoughts had been tossing her into her past, where she had to feel her way out slowly, gingerly, like being in a dark room with sharp objects.

"Ohhhh." Emily's first contraction came with a jolt, body-slammed by a seven- or eight-pound fetus. She and Doug had already chosen the baby's name.

– Excerpted from The Good Mother Test: Not Trying to Heal My Inner Child While Raising One by Michael R. French, Terra Nova Books, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Michael R. French graduated from Stanford University where he was an English major, focusing on creative writing, and studied under Wallace Stegner. He received a Master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He later served in the United States Army before marrying Patricia Goodkind, an educator and entrepreneur, and starting a family.

In addition to publishing twenty-three titles, including award-winning young adult fiction, adult fiction, biographies, and a self-help book, he has written or co-written a half-dozen screenplays. These include indie films Intersection, which has won awards in over thirty-five film festivals, and The Reunion. Both streamed on Amazon.

He has also had a long business career in real estate, living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His passions include travel, collecting rare books, and hanging with friends and family. French’s work, which includes several best-sellers, has been warmly reviewed in the New York Times.

Visit his website at www.goodmothertest.com.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mfrenchauthor  

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelRFrenchAuthor/?fref=nf 

╰┈➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrfrenchbooks/  

╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245381265-the-good-mother-test

Sponsored By:

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐The Faithful, The Fearful & The Foolish: Living for God in Troubled Times by Luke Uebelher #Spiritual #Self-Help #Christian

 

Empowering readers to grow as Faithful Disciples of Christ by equipping them to overcome the fear of man, become effective in the Business of God, and prepare themselves to Rule & Reign with Christ…

Here is a timely word for the Church of Jesus Christ, for those who have a true desire to know and to be pleasing to God. The parable of the talents, while not necessarily an easy word to hear, is a much-needed word for the Church today. Brother Luke has perfectly captured the word of Jesus in his exposition on the parable of our Lord. 

The Faithful, The Fearful & The Foolish: Living for God in Troubled Times is available at Amazon. 

╰┈➤Book Details

• • Genre: Personal Transformation

  • Sub-genre: Spiritual Self-Help/Discipleship/Christian Leadership

  • Language:English

  • Pages: 124

  • Paperback ISBN: 979-8368097947

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

“This book will encourage you, challenge you & remind you that YOU have a purpose & important kingdom work to do here, put your armor on Christian soldier.” – Valentina Anderson

“If you, like me, see that this world is getting darker and that the light is not as bright as it could be, then this book is for you.” – Joyful

“This book is very inspirational and a must read!” – Carla Price

Watch Luke Talk About His Book

 

About the Author

In 2012, Luke Uebelher began serving and supporting the needs of sex-trafficking and domestic violence survivors by working in partnership with ministries that are led by trafficking and abuse survivors. Under the guidance and leadership of his pastors, his ministry expanded to also serving and supporting the needs of homeless Military Veterans, and ministries in the Philippines. Luke and his wife Maggie were married in 2018 and have a home in the Philippines. Luke travels between the United States and the Philippines for business and ministry services. 

Luke’s latest book is The Faithful, The Fearful & The Foolish: Living for God in Troubled Times.

Connect with him on social media at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Luke-UebelherDiamond-Fire-Transport-Missions-100077395525353/ 

Sponsored By:

PUYB Author Talks: ⭐A Bookish Conversation with 'The Siren of Paris' David LeRoy⭐ #interview

 

 

 

David LeRoy is an author and avid explorer of the intersection of philosophy, psychology, and art. His debut novel, The Siren of Paris, is a poignant work that emerged from personal family research he undertook in 2010 to locate missing persons of WWII.

LeRoy’s fluency in French and two-year sojourn in France afforded him unique insights into the French culture he deftly weaves into his literary work. With a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religion, an MBA from California State University Sacramento, and an MSc. Applied Data Science from Paris, France, LeRoy is a polymath with diverse interests and an insatiable curiosity for knowledge.

He currently resides in California, where he continues to write and pursue his creative passions.

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesirenofparis

╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14760740-the-siren-of-paris?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=v6UbhLIMmb&rank=1

 

Can you tell us a little about yourself? Are you a full time author?

Today, I am just an average Middle Age American Male. I once worked in Telecommunications in various management roles. My formal education is in Philosophy and Religion from a small private Christian college named Point Loma Nazarene College. I also hold an MBA from California State University of Sacramento and a MSc. in Data Analytics from France. My interest in writing stories came later in my life. Instead of a degree program, I attended workshops to advance my story crafting abilities. I adore the study of depth psychology of Carl Jung.

Can you tell us about The Siren of Paris?

The story follows a soul’s transition after death and the war is treated as a life review. This point of view makes the story unique and adds the magical realism elements to the plot. Most of the World War Two Genre is a hero’s journey and treats the war as a testing ground where heroes are made against the evil Germans. Romanticized stories have dominated the fiction of the war in the past twenty years. The Siren of Paris is a story of betrayal within a world of utter moral chaos. This is the second edition, with small minor edits to scenes to sharpen the moralistic tone. The question which the work addresses is the following: Can a soul find rest after such a war?

 

Can you tell us a little about the characters?

Marc Tolbert is the lead protagonist. He was born at the end of World War One. His family was wealthy and he chooses to study in Europe after a nasty break from a girlfriend in 1938. He is common as there were 1000’s of Americans traveling back and forth between Europe at the outbreak of the war. Once the war began, most found themselves trapped by the circumstances with many never surviving. The characters of the Siren are historical people, some famous at the time, operating within the normal context of the war. This also includes all the animals which appear in the story, most of all the white Angora rabbit on the RMS Lancastria.

Where is this book set and why did you choose that location?

I was involved in missing person’s research of the war for my family. Most of the facts of the war presented in The Siren of Paris I had no idea of when I started my search. Our stories of the war are mythic and often focused upon military campaigns. The facts that I undiscovered when searching revealed a war that was a moral apocalypse of unimaginable scale. As an example, as before the fall of Paris, the city was inundated by fleeing refugees of Belgium and Netherlands. This included live stock in the form of sheep, cows, pigs and goats. Paris was bombed with leaflets promising to close all banks sending the public into a panic. Everyone became a target including a traveling circus on the road leaving Paris.

 

How can people benefit from reading The Siren of Paris?

There are several benefits to reading The Siren of Paris. First, it is the only novel that I am aware of that treats certain acts of the war, such as the sinking of RMS Lancastria realistically. Romanticized stories of the war are entertaining however are not accurate representations of the true chaos, moral failures of people, and events of the war. The story appears to have a healing effect of closure for those with family members who have experienced tragedies.

Is The Siren of Paris your only book?

Today it is the only work in public, but I am currently in editing phase of a second novel title The Flower of Chamula. The new story addresses the topic of generational trauma, war, and massacres of the innocents. It is set during the Mexican uprising of the Zapatista during the 1990s.

Thank you so much for this interview, David. What’s next for you?

I have started research into a new historical horror fiction work of the 1970’s. A few of the books that provide the research materials are rare and several hundred dollars. The zeitgeist of the period is one of political and social uncertainty. The protagonist is a young FBI officer who finds himself among a group of Western Ranchers seeking to protect their cattle at night from a terrifying force. The accounts are fascinating as well as government documentation. Every cow multination was given full autopsy. Everyone wants to know, but also has a direct interest in covering up the truth.

Inside the Book

Journey through the dark, violent, and haunting landscape of World War II in Paris and beyond – Take on a harrowing tour through the depths of human depravity, exploring themes of love, loss, guilt, and redemption in this gripping historical tale.

Marc Tolbert, a young French-born man from a prominent American family, takes off to Paris for a fresh start after a breakup in 1939. Pursuing his dreams of attending a prestigious Parisian art school, he soon makes friends with some of history’s most notable figures, including Sylvia Beach and William Bullitt. Falling in love with an art model from one of his classes, he is blinded to the escalating violence around them as the war inches closer to the City of Lights.

What started as an adventure quickly becomes a nightmare as the war worsens, and Marc is faced with choices that will change his life forever.

When he finally faces the reality that he must leave Paris, fate deals him a cruel hand. Surviving the sinking of the RMS Lancastria, Marc is haunted by the deaths of his friends and the regret of not leaving sooner.

Returning to Paris, Marc is drawn into the resistance movement, risking everything to help those trapped behind enemy lines. But after being betrayed, he is captured and sent away to face the horrors of war and the guilt of his past mistakes.

The Siren of Paris is a powerful and emotional story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. With its compelling plot-driven narrative, vivid scenes, and intense action, this novel will transport you to the heart of war-torn Paris and leave you contemplating the weight of human choices and their impact on others. Whether you’re a fan of historical fiction, war stories, or symbolic themes, this novel will captivate and intrigue you from start to finish.

The Siren of Paris is available at Amazon.

*****

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Sub-genre: Magical Realism
• Language:English
• Pages: 352
• Paperback ISBN: 978-0983966715

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

“The soul of this book is found in LeRoy’s analysis of human nature through the main character. There really is nothing like a life-or-death situation that can split human nature so cleanly and show us what being human really means. The author shows us how a person can be completely changed from this experience, how in a few short years, in a few short moments, or even in a split second, everything can become drastically different. This book is suited for those with a love for history and those with a love for fiction alike. This novel brought tears to my eyes and left me with a more enlightened heart, so it is with absolute pleasure that I say The Siren of Paris is highly recommended.” – Boyu Huang, Allbooks Review Int.

“I’ve just finished reading Siren of Paris by David LeRoy and it’s a story that will stay with me for a while. It has a complex, well developed plotline and presents the story in a tantalising way. I’ve read quite a few books set during the Second World War… this one especially gripped me.” – Dianne Ascroft Ascroft 

⭐Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tour Kick Off⭐Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain by Marie McGaha #Memoir

 

 Your Ghost is an honest look at grief through the eyes of a woman loved deeply, lost suddenly, and is learning to live with the echo of loss left behind...

Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain is a searing, faith-anchored memoir of love, loss, and the long road back to oneself. When Marie’s husband dies without warning, her world fractures in an instant, leaving her to navigate the brutal, unfiltered landscape of grief. In the quiet of an empty house and the chaos of a shattered heart, she wrestles with God, memory, and the haunting presence of the man she can no longer touch but cannot let go.

Told with unflinching honesty and spiritual depth, Your Ghost traces the intimate, day-by-day unraveling and rebuilding of a woman who refuses to let tragedy define the rest of her life. As she confronts guilt, loneliness, anger, and the strange moments when his nearness feels almost tangible, Marie discovers that grief is not a straight line but a sacred, winding path. What emerges is a story not only of devastation, but of resilience—a testament to enduring love, stubborn hope, and the quiet miracles that carry us forward when we think we cannot take another step.

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: Memoir
• Sub-genre: Survival Biographies
• Language:English
• Pages: 105
• Hardcover: 979-8252998060 

Your Ghost is available at Amazon.

╰┈➤Here’s What Readers Have To Say!

“You will feel every emotion, especially the pain, of losing your soulmate unexpectedly as you read this deeply spiritual journey of recovery. This kind of loss is painful, emotionally draining and physically crippling. Through every stage of grief, Ms. McGaha helps us understand how we can begin to breathe again and move forward. I cried, I felt her pain and rejoiced as the agony slowly began to leave. The best book I've ever read about grief and recovery. A must read for anyone experiencing the loss of a loved one. Also, it's proof God is still beside us at our lowest point… (this is) a woman trying to hang onto life. A life that crashed and burned unexpectedly… very inspiring.” - Vicki L.

 

"A beautifully written, heart-wrenching examination of deep-held grief, Marie McGaha pulls the reader in with her dynamic and impactful imagery, compelling us to understand her tragedy—the caregiving and ultimate loss of the one love of her life, her husband, Nathan. The thoughts, the analysis, and the unfolding of this unwanted, unasked-for journey from a woman familiar with grief are, at times, more than one can bear. Yet the sheer poetry, interwoven with the Word of God, brings us fully into the author’s world with brilliance. Her deeply personal exploration of grief—from exhaustion, to numbness, to heightened awareness—is extraordinary, leaving the reader with a greater understanding of our own journeys through death and loss. This is a journey that, once entered, will not easily be forgotten—a powerful and necessary read for anyone who has known love and loss." - Linda W.

╰┈➤Read if you Love a Book That is...

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡ Tender

❤️ྀི Haunting

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡ Honest

❤️ྀི Faith-Anchored

｡ ₊°༺❤︎༻°₊ ｡ Intimate

Excerpt:

The Night My Life Ended

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints, (Psalm 116:15)

T.S. Eliot wrote, “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.” Mine ended with a heart-shattering, gut-wrenching scream that came from a place so deep and primal, I wasn’t aware it was me.

Grief is not a single moment. It is a rupture, a tearing open of the world I thought I knew. The day my husband died, the stillness of our house pressed in on me. The hospital bed in our living room, the night falling beyond the windows, the chill of November air beginning to set in. 

Inside those walls, everything I knew was ending. Twenty-three years of marriage, twenty-three years of shared laughter, arguments, plans, and dreams — gone with his last breath. The future we imagined together went up in smoke, like fog on a misty morning when the sun comes up, but today, there would be no sunrise.

Cancer is sinister. It is a thief, stealing moments, years, and dreams. It is a murderer, taking lives with no remorse. It is sadistic, tormenting the body while mocking the soul. It is raw, stripping away dignity, leaving only pain and silence.

Cancer does not simply arrive; it invades. It creeps into the corners of a home, into the rhythm of daily life, until everything revolves around its demands. It is not just a medical condition — it is a shadow that stalks, a cruel presence that reshapes love into labor and hope into survival.

At home, I became his caregiver. Our house transformed into a place of quiet battles —  pill bottles lined up on the counter, blankets folded and refolded, the rhythm of care replacing the rhythm of ordinary life.

I watched him grow weaker, his body betraying him day by day. He lost weight until his clothes hung loose, until his frame seemed too fragile for the man I had known. His voice grew softer, his steps shorter, until walking across a room was no longer possible. The walls of our home became boundaries he could not cross, and I learned that love sometimes means bearing witness to limits I cannot change.

There is cruelty in watching someone I love fade within the walls once filled with laughter. I cooked meals he could no longer eat, held cups he could no longer lift, and sat beside him when sleep became his only refuge. Love became labor, and labor became love.

And yet, even in illness, there were moments of tenderness. His hand reaching for mine, his eyes searching for reassurance, the quiet gratitude in his smile when I tucked the blanket around him. We had built a life together — birthdays, holidays, ordinary Tuesdays — and even as his body failed, the love we shared remained intact.

That night, I held him in my arms, his body nestled between my legs on the bed. I whispered to him that he was a good husband, a good father, that our marriage was the anchor of my life. I wanted my words to be the last thing he heard, my embrace the last place he rested.

It would be the last time I felt his body next to mine, the last time I felt his heart beating against me, the last time I would hear his breath, smell his scent, and hold him close.

The room was quiet except for the sound of his breathing, each inhale and exhale a fragile thread tying him to this world. I counted them, knowing one would be the last. When it came, the silence was deafening.

I felt the world split open. My scream tore through the night, raw and unrecognizable. It came from a place beyond language, beyond thought — a primal sound that announced the end of everything I knew. Twenty-three years of love collapsed into that silence, leaving me in a foreign world where nothing was familiar.

I am a Christian. I believe in God. I believe in miracles. I believe in prayer. I prayed for my husband. I requested others to pray. But God had no miracles that day.

Faith did not shield me from loss. Prayers did not stop the silence from coming. I had believed in a God who could part seas, heal the sick, raise the dead. But on that night, there was no parting, no healing, no raising. 

There was only the stillness of a body that would never move again, and the echo of prayers unanswered. 

Grief has forced me to wrestle with faith in ways I never imagined. I still believe, but belief now carries scars. 

I believe in God, but I also know that miracles are not guaranteed. 

I believe in prayer, but I also know that sometimes the answer is silence.

Grief is disorienting. Time fractures. The minutes after his death stretched into eternity, yet the house around me remained unchanged. The bed was still there, the blankets still rumpled, the November night still pressing against the windows. 

But everything inside me had collapsed.

His absence was everywhere — in the empty chair at the table, in the silence where his laughter used to be, in the bed that suddenly felt too large. I found myself reaching for him in the night, only to grasp at emptiness.

The scream that escaped me that night became an echo inside me. It reverberated through the days that followed, through the funeral, through the endless paperwork and condolences. 

People told me I was strong, but strength felt like a mask I wore to survive. Inside, I was broken.

The world became foreign. Simple things — grocery shopping, answering the phone, folding laundry — felt alien, stripped of meaning. 

Every plan we had made together dissolved. Trips we would never take, anniversaries we would never celebrate, grandchildren he would never hold. 

The future was gone, erased in an instant.

Grief is not linear. It is tidal. Some days it recedes, leaving me with quiet memories. Other days it crashes over me, pulling me under. 

I have learned to breathe in the undertow, to let the waves come, because they carry him back to me in fragments — his laugh, his touch, his presence in the ordinary moments of our life together.

I have discovered that grief is not something to get over. It is something I carry. It reshaped me, redefined me. 

I am a wife but no longer married. 

I am a wife who is no longer a part of a couple. 

I am a wife who is single.

Sleep has become nearly impossible. It is short moments of dreams where we are together, laughing, holding hands but I awaken, and he is gone. Again.

I became a version of myself that I don’t recognize. Nothing is the same, yet everything is the same. I have aged. My hair whiter, my eyes duller, my smile less bright, my laughter comes less often. 

I am a version of myself that is learning to live without my heart. I am learning to embrace grief as a part of who I am rather than an enemy who stalks me.

The stages of grief laugh at me. Some days they attack all at once, trampling on me, battering me relentlessly. Other days, they leave me in peace. 

It’s nearly five years later and my husband is still gone. He is dead and I am the ghost that wanders through the house.

And yet, even in grief, I remember the life we built. The way he held my hand at the movies. The way we danced in the kitchen while dinner simmered on the stove. The way he kissed me goodnight, every night, for twenty-three years. 

These memories are both balm and blade — they soothe me and they cut me open.

I remember our wedding day, the nervous laughter, the vows spoken with trembling voices, the joy of promising forever. I remember the births of our grandchildren, the way he cried when he first held them, the way he whispered their names like prayers. 

I remember vacations where we got lost on back roads and laughed until our stomachs hurt. I remember quiet mornings with coffee, the news-paper spread across the table, his hand reaching for mine without thinking.

These memories are the architecture of my grief. They remind me of what was, and of what will never be again. They are proof that love existed, that it thrived, that it shaped me into who I am.

Eliot wrote of the world ending with a whisper. Mine ended with a scream. But grief has taught me that endings are not silent, nor are they final. They reverberate, echoing through the lives of those left behind.

My scream was not just the sound of loss — it was the sound of love refusing to be silenced. And though my husband is gone, that love remains — fierce, enduring, and unbroken. 

The world may be foreign now, the future erased, but the love we shared is indelible. It is the sunrise that will never come yet still glows inside me.

– Excerpted from Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain by Marie McGaha, Dancing with Bear Publishing, 2026. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Marie McGaha is an award-winning writer whose work includes clean historical romances, Christian devotionals, and heartfelt children’s books. A storyteller at her core, she weaves faith, resilience, and gentle humor through every page she writes.

She makes her home in southeast Oklahoma, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, where life is anything but quiet. Her days are shared with four spoiled dogs, a crippled rooster with more attitude than feathers, a noisy guinea who believes it runs the place, a couple of flighty hens, and a watchful roo who keeps an eye on everything that moves. This lively little farm—equal parts sanctuary and circus—provides endless inspiration, companionship, and the kind of grounding only God’s creation can offer.

Whether she’s crafting a tender love story, guiding readers through Scripture, or bringing the Bible to life for children through animal characters, Marie writes with a voice shaped by faith, loss, healing, and the stubborn hope that refuses to let go. Her work reflects the heart of a woman who has walked through fire and come out carrying stories worth telling.

You can also join her for daily devotionals on YouTube at @HeReignsChurch, where she shares encouragement, Scripture, and the steady reminder that hope is still alive. You can contact her by email: church.hereigns@gmail.com. 

Marie’s latest book is Your Ghost: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Echoes That Remain.

Visit her blog at authormariemcgaha.blogspot.com. 

Connect with her on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMarieMcGaha

╰┈➤ LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/mariemcgaha 

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