What began just 4 months after the tragedy is now captured in 112 pages that certainly won’t be like anything you’ve ever read. As Sheila Turrentine writes herself, “Grief is a very personal and singular progression” and her book This is my Story This is my Song is just that, her experience. Turrentine’s daughter Emilie went missing while boating with friends at Rend Lake. She was found 27 hours later. Turrentine says she was called by God to write and share her story.
Those who know Sheila, know she’s a pretty open book in that she has never been reserved in telling others her thoughts. In the preface, she writes about an article she read online by another woman who lost a child and that faith nor God were ever mentioned and how depressing the story was to her. Turrentine wondered who the woman surrounded herself with because her experience has been the total opposite. In the article, the woman said how few books there are on the loss of a child. Turrentine called it further confirmation of what God had already called upon her to do.
“I thought I had worked through a lot of things, and then as I started typing more things started coming to the forefront. I had to deal with a lot of different issues as I was writing the book. It was healing, but my main goal was to share my story in order to comfort others or help them in any way possible.”
She’s described herself as writing she talks which isn’t always grammatically or politically correct and says she never had any intention of writing an actual book.
“That was the furthest thing from my mind. We were getting ready to start a church fast and I was spending a lot of time in prayer so me and 
God talked a lot. I just got it in my heart and He laid it on my mind that He wanted me to write my story down and so I did. I wrote most of it in January 2014 during the church fast. I kinda went on hiatus and finished it at a later date.”
And what is she hoping you’ll get out of reading her story?
“With God all things are possible. You have to form a relationship with Him and allow Him to heal you and drag you kicking and screaming through the utmost horrible thing that you can possibly go through and at the end you can come out better than you were before. And you can smile instead of cry.”
The book is available at The Courtyard in Carmi. The Berry Basket in Carmi is carrying copies and Sheila will have a book signing there on Saturday, Feb 13th at 10am. The Carmi Library is hosting Turrentine for a signing on the 20th from 11a – 2p. The Attic is carrying copies and so is The Boutique at Merle Norman in Carmi. The book is also available online and in e-book form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and AuthorHouse.com. Again the book title, This is My Story This is my Song.
