Losing a child will never be easy…

Loss – no matter what form it comes in – can be a truly devastating experience. Every single person experiences loss in a different way, and it takes a tremendous amount of courage to recover from the grasp of sadness and despair.

Two books that will be featured at THIN AIR 2011 deal with a type of loss that is difficult for most to even comprehend – the loss of a child.

In Kalila, author Rosemary Nixon chronicles the lives of a young husband and wife whose joy collides with devastation when their daughter's premature birth comes with the news of her congenital heart condition. The story shifts perspectives from husband to wife, and takes the reader through the isolating days spent at the hospital and the fearful days trying to obtain normalcy at home.

The House with the Broken Two: A Birthmother Remembers - written by Myrl Coulter - is an intimate and honest look at the closed adoption system of the 1960s. The author is forced to give away her first-born child, and for 37 years she is left yearning, hoping and praying that they will one day be reunited.

Both books are heartfelt, genuine and chronicle the true stories of the authors who have written them. For Nixon, it took fifteen years and two continents for her to finish writing her story. For Coulter, it was only after reuniting with her son that she could propel her tale forward.

Nixon and Coulter have faced loss in very different ways, yet through sadness they both found the courage to write their stories and share them with the world. Meet both authors at the festival this year, and experience firsthand how loss can gradually give way to unwavering courage.