Replies

Well, here is my take on writing books, based on ones own personal experiences, especially when those experiences are played out on national TV....I really dont have a problem with it....I dont believe that its ghoulish or morally wrong for either Michael Shiavo, or the Schindlers to write books telling their own side of the story, and then reaping money from those book sales...there will be people who will be willing to spend money to buy and read those books, hoping to gain some further information, or gain perhaps a little bit of insight as to how the people involved in this whole event, felt while going through it...

And whether or not any of them give some of that money to charity or keep the money for themselves is not really a matter of concern to me...now, if they do say that the proceeds from the book will go to a charity that is being set up, then I do think that the potential book buyers do have the right to question what percentage of the proceeds will support the foundation...dont most charities have to be able to be scrutinzed?....in other words, dont they have to show how much money was contributed, how much money was actually used for the stated purpose of the charity?...dont they also have to show how much money was paid out for administration of the charity, and how much in salary was paid out to the board members of the charity?...I think that these are reasonable questions to be asked and answered...My hubby and I give to several different charities throughout the year...but we do like to check them out...some of these charities that we support, are charities that support a cause that is near and dear to our hearts...some of these charities have actually assisted people I have known, or even members of my own family...but we dont like to be scammed, so we need to check all the charities that we give to, and assure ourselves, that indeed the majority of the money that is given goes to the stated purpose of the charity...

And for all people what percent of the donated money goes to the actual cause of the charity is different...some people are happy if even a mere 10 percent of donated money goes to the cause of the charity(10 percent to myself and the hubby is an abyssmal low percent and thus we would never give to such a charity)....but for some, 10 percent is ok, and its the donors money, and if they are satisfied, then that should settle the matter...when my husband and I donate, we like to, as best as we can, assure ourselves that 75 percent of our donated money goes directly to helping those who are intended to be beneficiaries of the given charity....but thats our standard, everyone else has their own standard...

As to the belief that some have voiced here, that writing a book about ones experience in a tragic situation with their child is somehow morbid, or wrong, well, I will disagree...often people write books for many, different reasons...some write for money, some write to tell their side of a story, some write in a genuine wish to start a charity, some write for a catharsis...there are many varied reasons for writing a book...

Many years ago, I lost my older son to leukemia...it was a terrible time...I was very ill for a long time afterwards, needed a lot of mental health counseling, ,and had a hard time readjusting to life without my son...where I did find great help and consolation, was in other parents who had similar experiences, such as I did...and many of these experiences were found in books, written by the parents of children who had died from disease...some books were simply not helpful at all, others were mildly helpful, but there was one book, which really was wonderful for me, in my situation....the lady who wrote the book had a son who was about 19 when he died of an incurable brain tumor(my son was 15 when he died of a usually incurable form of leukemia)...when she described her son before being ill, he so resembled my son in temperment, personality etc...what she described in her sons reaction to his diagnosis, and how he dealt with his illness, again was so similar to my own sons experience...what this lady went through both physically and mentally, could have been written by me...(she had to cope with a few problems that I myself had, yet had never heard any of the other parents who lost children mention them)...so for me, this book was like a lifeline...I was so absolutely grateful for this lady to write this book...I am sure it was hard for her to do it, but she said she was so proud of her sons battle with cancer that she wanted others to know of his strength, and perhaps she could be of some consolation to other parents about to face the ordeal she had face...boy, was she ever right, at least to me...

Now, she made no mention of having a charity, so I am sure that any proceeds of the book, went to her and her family...and after all, this is America, and there is nothing wrong with making money on writing a book, even if it is about ones own childs struggle and death...and even tho my husband was in the military at the time, and thus much of my childs care was provided 'almost' free by the military, still we had huge medical bills for things the military would not pay for, added to that the huge out of pocket expenses that one incurs, while helping a loved one go through any sort of cancer treatment...so I felt, Bless this woman who wrote this book, she let me see into her heart, she let me share her experience, and perhaps she made a little money to defray what I am sure were incredible medical bills...I just see nothing wrong with that...

People will always be divided on this Terri Shiavo case...perhaps further books, written by the people who were actually involved in the case, will bring further knowledge...