Natalie Wirtz

Dear Deborah Wiles,

Living. Dying. Good or Bad? My brain flew up to heaven then landed safely in the grave when Comfort's great-great aunt died. It truly taught me that dying is good when the right time comes. Comfort and I both felt dying was one of the worst times in your life. But, is it really?

While I was reading your book I found out that my great- grandfather died. Comfort and I both had to deal with a close loss. The funeral was heart warming for me as it was for Comfort. Our hearts burned with infuriation as they buried our losses. But, at one point, we realized that life is a cycle. At a funeral a baby cries and that's what tears and shreds our infuriation to pieces. It grabs our hearts and inserts a coin to make us realize that dying is a sad but wonderful process. As Comfort and I walk out of the church after the funeral to go and celebrate, we casually walk away to our favorite place and just listen. While we're there the birds sing, the wind blows, and everything is calm. While we quietly sit, the feeling of death lays in our soul. I had always looked at my silhouette and said, "I wish I could live forever!" But when I read your book I realized life would be boring if you never went away.

Living. Dying. Good or Bad? We'll never know which is better. Your book has put me into new shoes. It has lifted my heart from the grave and landed it into my bed safely at home. Your book is the reason my thoughts about death have changed. Thank you!

Yours truly,
Natalie Wirtz