Title: Sister Surrendered
Author: Darla Grese
Genre: Memoir
When you’re a twin, loneliness is somewhat unfamiliar because you’ve always had each other. So when a twin passes, the other is left unprepared. Our loyalty was steadfast and our devotion to one another, solid. Our love was unconditional no matter what the circumstances. I’m so grateful every day for the memories of the joy and laughter that we shared together. I know the bond that Kelli and I shared is impossible for anyone to replace.
This memoir has become something so much more than initially intended. It’s become a documented journey barely scratching the surface of the love between two sisters. And surprisingly, it’s also become an outlet for me to speak candidly and honestly about my struggles with the cause of Kelli’s death. This is a love story turned tragedy. An exposure of one of the greatest healthcare failures killing Veterans and civilians, and a cry for help to remedy the fiasco.
I’ve stressed about who I would mention in this book, nervous that I would hurt someone’s feelings by not mentioning their names. But I’ve realized that it’s impossible to do. Kelli had so many great friends, some I’ve never even met.
I need each person to know who has taken the time to reach out to me in whatever capacity that if it weren’t for your heartfelt show of support and love, I don’t know that I would be able to muster the energy to even get up each day. Kelli, we did it.
This book brought me to tears. Kelli and Darla, twin sisters, had an unique connection, an unique bond. They were two sides of the same coin, connected forever. The memoir follows their lives as they grow up, go to the military, and carve a future for themselves.
But then, things start to go wrong. A healthcare fiasco takes Kelli’s life, and Darla is left to pick up the pieces of her own life, and to struggle to get past what happened to her sister.
An inspiring, but heart wrecking read.
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