Breathing Sorrow

About the Book

Carole-Ann Baer remembers vividly the day her husband, Lee, received the devastating news he had terminal cancer and was given three to five months to live. She wondered how life could go from normal to this? How could their happy, predictable world suddenly be changing most horribly? How would she tell the kids? The family didn't invite cancer in, and now they had a permanent intruder.

In Breathing Sorrow, she shares the story of her family's journey through an illness that swallowed their lives and took away a beloved father, husband, son, brother, colleague, and friend. It's a story of emotional chaos and shattered dreams, the story of being broken, being changed, but somehow finding how to live with the most devastating sorrow imaginable. It's a story about pain, loss, and profound grief, yet somewhere embedded in all of these things, it’s a story about hope.

Through Baer's personal reflections, Breathing Sorrow captures the emotional turmoil any terminal illness puts upon a family. It narrates the road of despair but also the possibility of healing through heartfelt bits of wisdom. It illustrates the possibility of hope and light.

About the Author

Carole Ann Baer, a distinguished figure in the ballroom dance world, has achieved notable success as a performer and educator. She studied special education and psychology at Brigham Young University where she also danced with the Brigham Young University Ballroom Dance Team and currently teaches dance at Brandeis University. She has a passion for cultural, community and service-oriented programs and currently is the Commissioner and founder of the Sudbury Little League Challenger Division as well as one of the founding members of HOPEsudbury. Baer lives in Stow, Massachusetts.