Title: My Name is Sam...And Heaven is Still Shining Through
Author: Joe Siccardi
Genre: Christian-themed fictional memoir
Release Date: August 25, 2019
Sit down with a cup of coffee or a nice wine and visit with Sam as she shares a lifetime of memories in this new Christian-themed fictional memoir. My Name Is Sam ... and Heaven Is Still Shining Through is a follow-up to the break out novella, Heaven Shining Through. It introduces Sam (Samantha), her family and friends in more detail than the original, and picks up where the novella left off. I hope readers get to know Sam as a friend, a life long friend. Share her life ... complete with some drama, some humor, some heart tugs. Just a free-willed suburban Jersey girl trying to figure out this journey called life with the presence of God in an ordinary life as the underlying theme.
Kate stayed with me after the funeral to temporarily close the house. We knew we would have to come back to make arrangements to sell the house and make final decisions about what stays in the family, who gets what, making a donation pile and what has served its purpose and usefulness. We took a final inventory as we covered the furniture, adjusted the heat, and set the alarm.
On the ride back to Ohio, I thanked Kate for staying behind and helping. She politely responded, “Wouldn’t have had it any other way, Mom. You know, we girls have to stick together.”
“Thanks Sweetie.”
It was small talk for awhile, but as we merged onto the Ohio Turnpike with the sun starting to set, Kate turned to me. “Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Sure! Anytime! Anything!”
“Mom, I’ve never seen you at such peace. I mean, usually comments like Father Pat’s would have made you …” her voice trailed before adding, “… uncomfortable.”
I smiled. “You’re right, honey. Normally, being singled out like that would have made me squirm. I may have even challenged some of those comments. But I sat with Grandma over those last hours and I knew, I just knew, Father Pat was spot on.”
“I’m glad you made peace with Grandma. I know you didn’t have such a great relationship with her.”
“It wasn’t so bad. We had our ups and downs, kinda of like you and me.”
“Downs?” protested Kate in mock surprise. “We had a great relationship growing up!”
“Yes, we did, but there were those times … like when you wanted to date Billy … and stay out all night with your friends at 14 … or when I caught you smoking in the basement …”
“That wasn’t me,” Kate mockingly interrupted. “That was JR. I was just holding the cigarette for him.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,” I said. “That’s why I love you guys!”
“That’s why we loved you too, Mom. You were always so cool.”
I squeezed her hand as we focused on the road ahead. There was a storm brewing ahead of us, but all of a sudden a single ray of sunshine found its way through the clouds.
Kate reached out her hand, pointing to the sky. “Look, Mom. Heaven is shining through!”
“You remembered. Yes. Yes. That’s heaven shining through! Isn’t it hopeful?”
On the ride back to Ohio, I thanked Kate for staying behind and helping. She politely responded, “Wouldn’t have had it any other way, Mom. You know, we girls have to stick together.”
“Thanks Sweetie.”
It was small talk for awhile, but as we merged onto the Ohio Turnpike with the sun starting to set, Kate turned to me. “Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Sure! Anytime! Anything!”
“Mom, I’ve never seen you at such peace. I mean, usually comments like Father Pat’s would have made you …” her voice trailed before adding, “… uncomfortable.”
I smiled. “You’re right, honey. Normally, being singled out like that would have made me squirm. I may have even challenged some of those comments. But I sat with Grandma over those last hours and I knew, I just knew, Father Pat was spot on.”
“I’m glad you made peace with Grandma. I know you didn’t have such a great relationship with her.”
“It wasn’t so bad. We had our ups and downs, kinda of like you and me.”
“Downs?” protested Kate in mock surprise. “We had a great relationship growing up!”
“Yes, we did, but there were those times … like when you wanted to date Billy … and stay out all night with your friends at 14 … or when I caught you smoking in the basement …”
“That wasn’t me,” Kate mockingly interrupted. “That was JR. I was just holding the cigarette for him.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,” I said. “That’s why I love you guys!”
“That’s why we loved you too, Mom. You were always so cool.”
I squeezed her hand as we focused on the road ahead. There was a storm brewing ahead of us, but all of a sudden a single ray of sunshine found its way through the clouds.
Kate reached out her hand, pointing to the sky. “Look, Mom. Heaven is shining through!”
“You remembered. Yes. Yes. That’s heaven shining through! Isn’t it hopeful?”
Joe Siccardi has been an editorial writer, editor and publisher for 52 years and posts a blog at https://wisdomfromafather.com/. As he states, "I'm the ordinary Joe walking along this journey called life and sharing it with you!" He is the proud father of five children, 18 grandchildren, and four great-granddaughters. He currently lives in Dover-Foxcroft, ME, after life experiences in Paterson, Totowa, Ogdensburg and Newton, NJ; Belvidere, IL; Toledo, OH; Washington, DC; Laurel, MD; and Seneca Falls and Willard (Romulus), NY. He has written three book, My Name Is Sam … and Heaven Is Still Shining Through, an expansion of his novella, Heaven Shining Through, and the nonfiction Wisdom From a Father … one ad’s thoughts on life, a collection of short stories culled and updated from the blog of the same name.
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