I am thrilled to announce that How to Help a Grieving Friend has been re-released both as an ebook and in book form by Greenbrier Book Company.

How to Help a Grieving Friend
by Stephanie Whitson
Greenbrier Book Company
April 2011

This book will help you be a source of comfort and strength to a grieving friend by equipping you to say words that will bring consolation and healing. Stephanie Grace Whitson, the author, identifies the subtle difference between helpful and hurtful conversations. She shares her grief-tested strategies with you so you will be prepared with the right words at a time when your friend most needs your support and understanding. The practical guidance and razor-sharp insights in this easy-to-read volume will give you the confidence that you know what to say - and how to say it.

"If you are grieving, read this book. If you desire to help someone who is grieving, this book is a great tool, a handbook, a roadmap that will sharpen your empathy and sympathy skills."

Ginger Wolffis
grief consultant

"Stephanie has given us a real guide to the valley of the the shadow of death. Not only does she give us gentle suggestions on how to and how not to help a grieving friend, she also gives us a poignant memoir of love and loss."

Robin Owen, M.Ed., LCPC

Years ago when I was researching a story, I visited the Dowse Sod House in Custer County, Nebraska. I asked Mr. Dowse where he'd been born. He pointed to the bed pictured on the right and said, "Right there." Looking at the quilt on the bed, I began to wonder about quilts used in sod houses....

The end result of that wondering is a new non-fiction title co-authored with Kathleen Moore.

Home on the Plains: Quilts and the Sod House Experience
     by Kathleen Moore & Stephanie Whitson

Home on the Plains
by Kathleen Moore
& Stephanie Whitson
ISBN: 1935362801
Kansas City Star Books
March 2011

"How happy we were in our new sod house on our homestead and to ourselves."

Inspired by sod house homemakers' words and quilts, Kathy Moore and Stephanie Whitson tell about those hard-working women striving to create a home on the plains ... in houses made of dirt.

While struggling to survive, they still found time for beauty, cutting scalloped edges on shelf paper, growing geraniums on their windowsills, and planting roses in the yard. And they made quilts - lovely, intricate quilts to brighten their homes.

Peek into the homes and lives of these Nebraska women. You'll want to use one of the eight timeless patterns or one of the variations included to make a quilt in remembrance of their courageous spirit.

CLICK HERE FOR A SNEAK PEEK

BOOK TALK

Kathy and I are honored to have been invited to give a talk, show quilts, and autograph books at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum 1523 North 33rd Street in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m. We’d love to meet you!

Also Available

Sixteen Brides
by Stephanie Grace Whitson
ISBN: 0764205137
Bethany House
April 2010
READ EXCERPT

In 1872, sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!

Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

I've launched a new lecture series and hope to get out to meet more folks in coming months. I'd love it if you'd click on the "Speaking" tab below, print out a brochure, and share it with folks you know who might be looking for a speaker. Topics range from faith to fabric (as in quilts), from fantastic women (the mighty women from our pioneer history) to fiction writing and are suitable for all kinds of different settings both faith-based and secular. Hope to hear from you!

If you have one of my older books and are planning on writing me, you need to know that I have a new mailing address:

Stephanie Grace Whitson
P.O. Box 6905
Lincoln, NE 68506

May the Lord bless you and yours with grace and peace in all circumstances.