LETTERS TO MY DEPARTED SON
DEAR BRANDON
by
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The neurologist continued talking, but my mind had fled the unwanted conversation and retreated into a corner to avoid his words. A small bleed? I thought. What is he talking about?
“The emotional struggle transforms to physical discomfort. I begin to feel warm beads of perspiration on my forehead; it progresses to a burning sensation to my entire face, a hammering headache, and an unbearable tightening in my chest.
“I plead with myself to calm down and breathe in an effort to lower my already medicated blood pressure. But any effort to control my emotions only hastens the inevitable. I start to wail uncontrollably and spew words from my lips that I don’t believe are mine. I go from room to room through the home I love, which now feels strangely dark and deserted, yelling obscenities and asking unanswerable questions.
“I say, ‘I’m sorry. Please forgive me.’ I grab whatever is near to clean my stained face and try to remember what I was doing. I catch my face in a mirror. I pause, checking for evidence of red eyes or puffiness. I find neither. I think to myself, No one will ever know.”
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About the Book
When Brandon Spight was born, his parents, Constance and Virgil, believed he was their one-in-a-million child, a gift from God. As they admired his ten fingers and toes, neither could have imagined that there was already a small imperfection deep within his brain that would ultimately force him to make a life-or-death decision while he was still in his teens. Certainly, they had no reason to believe he would leave them just days before his eighteenth birthday.
In a heartfelt volume of personal letters to her son, Constance provides a poignant glimpse into his extraordinary life. As her letters lead others through an extremely challenging time that begins with Brandon’s diagnosis at age seventeen and ends with her reflections about her journey through unthinkable grief to eventual acceptance and healing, Constance not only demonstrates the power of unconditional love, but also the power of a young man’s exceptional ability to positively impact others not just in life, but also death. Included are moving remembrances from those who knew and loved him.
Dear Brandon: Letters to My Departed Son shares personal letters from a grieving mother to her beloved son as he battles and sadly loses an insurmountable health challenge.
About the Author
Constance Spight earned a juris doctorate from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and is a City of Detroit retired police commander. She and her husband, Virgil, also a retired police commander, reside in a 1930’s three-story tudor in Detroit. This is her first book.