��R ALL THE W�RLD T� READ S��� ����� ����� �� �o�ces��� ���� �� ��� ������� ����� ��� ������ ������� �H����� N����� �H����� loss . Eighteen grieving relatives of other loved ones , including the mother of a 13-year-old girl who died in Lawton , Oklahoma , were also asked to contribute .
Most of the co-authors met Sime through online support groups for families of those who died because of the pandemic . Mary Cabanillas , however , says she has known Sime for decades . She was a teenager when they met at McDonald ’ s in Belleville . They worked together at the fast-food restaurant and became friends . She contributed to ��i�es��� by writing a chapter about her late mother , Carmelina Cabanillas , an Italian immigrant who settled in Belleville .
“ I felt it was the least that Icould do to honor her ,” says Cabanillas , of Nutley , now the tax collector for Belleville . “ For me , she was just the most amazing person . She was everything wrapped in one .” Cabanillas explains in her chapter that her mother ’ s favorite holiday was Christmas and how , each holiday season , she would turn their dining room into a “ winter wonderland ” by “ tirelessly creating a Christmas village ”— a “ spectacular work of art . She could make a roll of toilet paper look beautiful ,” Cabanillas says .
Cabanillas says putting her most intimate thoughts on paper was difficult , but that Cortez was there every step of the way to coach her through the writing process during much of the summer and fall of last year . They had deadlines to meet , and word limits to respect .
But even for Sarrel , who says she could “ write well from her heart ,” the process was emotionally draining . “ Trying to write what I thought he would want in astory was very hard for me ,” she says of her husband ’ s wishes . “ I think that , if Idid it over again , I might change it at least 17 more times .”
Although it was not easy , Sime says she found the process to be cathartic . “ I wrote it and rewrote it and rewrote it so many times because Iwanted it to be perfect — because it ’ s dedicated to her ,” says Sime , who now works for Cortez on a freelance basis . “ We ’ re just trying to figure out how to live without her , but that ’ s why we have the book .”
��i�es��� , which was published in April , includes photos ofeach loved one and his or her family , aswell as a how-to section on surviving grief by Rachelle Coffey , a mental health therapist based in Oconomowoc , Wisconsin . ■
T� pur�hase a�ind�e �ersi�n �r paper�a�� ��py ���he ����� �isi� a�a��n���� �r ������s�������� ��i�es���
@ waynemagazine WAYNE MAGAZINE BACK TOSCHOOL 2022
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