Daddy Bill Didn't Come For Coffee Today

About the Book

The author reveals her grief over the death of her father in a candid, uncensored way-a way most of us are unwilling to express. Her descriptive and colorful writings create a window into the thought process of a person struggling with loss. This is not a scientific study of how to deal with grief, but it is an opportunity to walk with Krisanne on her personal path of questioning, shock, pain, numbness, loneliness, fear, denial, and anger-and in so doing perhaps recognize oneself. She writes with an insightful realism that brings tears, laughter, and hope. (Yet her writings may have some people saying, "Now that's a little over the top!") But before you know it, you will fall in love with this tight-knit community, a daughter and her extended family, and most of all with her father, Daddy Bill.

Keep a notepad and pen handy to jot down all the things one must address when a loved one dies. Know you will shed tears, so have a box of tissues nearby to help keep the ink on your list from smearing. And finally, be prepared for laughter to catch you off guard in the midst of your tears.

About the Author

Krisanne Smith Roll, M.Ed., Indiana University Southeast says that following the birth of her firstborn child, Sophie, "I gave up the briefcase for the diaper bag because mothering is, for me, my spiritual act of worship." Krisanne lives in English, Indiana, with Jeff, her business and community leader husband of 28 years, and five of their six children-three of whom are adopted.

During her more than 21 years of mothering, she has found time to teach Sunday school, write youth materials for her church, substitute teach in the public school, be a co-owner in the family lumber business, be an active advisor for Christian World Adoption located in North and South Carolina, and serve as the founder and parent coordinator for an area wide adoption support group-and today, while her children are being lovingly cared for by extended family members, and just as this book goes to press-Krisanne joins her husband, Jeff, for several weeks of mission work in Africa.

Active in the adoption community, Krisanne witnesses grief expressed in others' lives as she meets families coping with infertility, as well as birth parents who are giving their children up for adoption. However, she says, "Experiencing the death of my loved one opened wide my eyes and heart-to that all-encompassing pain of raw grief."