Let It Be

Ruthe Rosen

I met Ruthe Rosen on June 1st at the taping of NewChannel8’s Let’s Talk Live. I had driven my PR client, Cyla Weiner, Co-Owner of SyLene of Washington to the station and was prepping her as we waited in the lobby to be escorted to the Television set. I had gotten Cyla on the show to talk with Natasha Barrett about all the work she has done to help women fighting Breast Cancer over her 35 years in the lingerie and swimwear business in Washington. There are very few lingerie stores which specialize in helping women who have had lumpectomy or mastectomy procedures.

Anyhow, after meeting Ruthe I knew I wanted to share with you her experience and her book, Let It Be: My Daughter’s Legacy. The book explores a mother’s journey with her daughter who is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The daughter’s journal entries are interwoven throughout the story to give the reader a true sense of the experience. The book provides inspiration as we watch Karla maintain her faith in God while she deals with her illness. Her kindness and her story spread across the world. This book provides a firsthand look at how one girl empowered the lives of many. At the conclusion, the reader is left with understanding the true meaning of how we all need to sometimes “Let It Be.”

Here is a little about the book from Ruthe:

Up until January 7, 2005 I enjoyed my “perfect life.” Well okay maybe it wasn’t perfect, but let’s just say it was normal. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, I owned a small business, was director of sales and education for a professional nail care company, and I traveled the country as a flight attendant.

I loved being a stay-at-home mom (domestic engineer) while benefiting from the enjoyment of volunteering my time to enhance whatever my children were involved in. Balancing three kids; one teenager, one toddler and one elementary schooler sometimes made things a bit difficult.  Throw in a blended family and a traveling husband, we still considered ourselves “normal.”  While nothing was perfect, I was unprepared for what was to come…
 
My oldest daughter Karla was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor at the age of 14. That next year of my life with Karla and my family was filled with tears, strength, love, and fear. Today, I am sustained by God—and the memories of the past now fill my heart with joy.

Sometimes memories and regrets still keep me awake at night and I often drift off during the day.  Remembering birthdays, holidays, school performances and sports games help sustain me through her absence…I won’t lie by telling you that sometimes my regrets rob me of current moments that can be experienced and shared today.    

Through faith and prayer, I have learned to channel some of those regrets and learned wisdom into helping other families who are now experiencing similar circumstances.

Today, along with my husband Michael and our two boys, Brandon and Cole, we are honored and privileged to run The Let It be Foundation™, not for Karla but because of Karla and how she truly displayed faith, and inspired us to “never give up.”  Everyday it is with passion and purpose, I run the day-to-day operations of the organization.   

Our goal at the foundation is simple… we provide individualized aide to meet the diverse needs of families (medical accessories, sibling care, room enhancements, household maintenance, meals, etc) on a monthly basis while their child is undergoing treatment. We provide monthly care sourced from donations and services from individuals and corporations.   The Let It Be Foundation™ is all about helping kids and getting the youth in our community involved.
    
My wish is that this book will provide a message of hope and inspiration to those who are facing challenges of any kind in their lives: the person going through a divorce, the woman who discovers she cannot have the child she so desperately wants, the parents living with a troubled child they can’t reach, or the widow/er who longs to be with their soul mate. I want this book to give people hope that they, too, can find purpose in their pain and know that one day, they will laugh again.

I’ve written about journaling to help deal with a loss, and a while back, I wrote about another inspirational book, The Shack. And before that, I wrote my thoughts on death and dying after dealing with the death of my beloved dog, Gatsby. I urge anyone coping with loss to purchase Ruthe’s book. It’s truly inspirational and I think it will give you strength.

- Miss A