About the Author
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Marilyn Rauth
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See Marilyn's new book
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When Robb was fourteen, encouraged by my husband, I also began owning and operating a garbage company. Bob worked for a chemical business at the time and though it was a good position, we worried constantly whether or not there would be enough money to pay the bills. It was difficult trying to juggle the children’s activities along with my trying to run a small business out of our home. Nor was running a garbage business exactly the thing I wanted to do or the thing I’d dreamed of doing.
As a child I loved reading books of Dickens, the Bronte sisters, and Jane Austen. At the time I couldn’t imagine how people could write and construct such wonderful stories, how smart they had to be, and all of that work done without the use of a typewriter! After sixteen years of running my business, I decided to return to college.
No more nursing for me or owning a business. I wanted to write. I thought I’d just take a few writing classes and then begin to write stories and articles. But after taking three writing classes, I was encouraged by one of my professors to go for a degree. The first thing I wrote that was published was a journey my husband and I took, a business trip to China. As soon as I received the first copy of the newsletter by Market Opinion Research and read the comments that eventually ensued because of my article, I knew I wanted to pursue writing.
I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in April of 1994. After a few months of R and R, I began work on my first book. All was well with the family and I was very happy to have been able to accomplish many of my goals while raising four children, three of whom had already graduated from college while the last child, Jeffery, was still in school. I was satisfied with what I’d done and was enjoying watching my children, myself, and my husband prosper and grow. The thought of living my life backward didn’t bother me any more; I was satisfied with the result and comfortable with my decisions.
Then, on April 6, 1997, our eldest child Robb died unexpectedly at the age of thirty-seven. The entire family was devastated. I didn’t know how I was going to go on, how I would survive such a loss. His death turned our world upside down. It was like we had all suddenly fallen into Hell. Sure that I would never write again (or even care to), I actually began writing my thoughts down about my son in a journal a few days later, our grief, my feelings and emotions. Many of these thoughts and words were the start of my memoir, Living Loving and Losing a Son (click on the link for more information).
Contact me, Marilyn Rauth, via email at marilyn@loss-of-child.com.