Friday, February 17, 2012

Friday Guest - Shaelee Elmore Honors Her Father

Today’s guest spotlight is a little different.  It features an essay written by young girl to honor the father she lost unexpectedly. 


Title: My Definition of a Dad: An Essay by Shaelee Elmore
Author: Shaelee Elmore
Release Date: Dec 2011
Publisher: Dancing With Bear Publishing (DWB Children's Line)

Blurb: On October 4, 2011 Shaelee Elmore's father, Tommy, passed away unexpectedly. The shock and grief was overwhelming for the entire family but especially Shaelee, who was "daddy's little girl". When Shae was born, Tommy quit his job in order to be a stay-at-home dad and raise his daughter.  

As an English assignment, the class was asked to write an definition essay. Shaelee wrote hers about her father. So touched by Shaelee's words, her teacher made sure Shae's mom, Melinda, (an author), read the essay. In turn, Melinda sent the essay to her publisher, Dancing With Bear Publishing.  

Because Tommy had passed away at such a young age with no insurance, the family was left in a financial bind. DWB decided to publish Shaelee's essay because it was so touching and because Shaelee is a talented writer and very articulate, and because DWB wanted to help the family as much as possible. 100% of the sales from this book go to Shae's college fund.  

Melinda Elmore's book Journey to Christmas Creek is also a benefit for the family. 100% of the sales for one year goes directly to the Elmore family to help pay final expenses. 

Excerpt:

The love my dad showed me was unconditional love. No matter what, my dad
loved me. I was, and still am, “daddy's girl.” He showed me what true and unconditional
love means. I will never ever forget how he loved me and my family. He was the best dad
anyone could have.

About Shaelee….
Shaelee is a homeschooled 7th grader, who has been an honor student since she started school. She lives in Arizona with her mother, Melinda, and older brother, Erik, whom she says she treasures and loves dearly, and a cat named, Feather. She loves singing, writing her own music, and designing clothing.

Her family is the most important thing to her. The loss of her father has had a dramatic effect on her, as it has her mother and brother. Shaelee says she was a daddy’s girl, and the two shared a bong like no other. She is happy to have her mother by her side, and says they share everything.

Shaelee loves helping animals and plans to attend college one day. She would like to have a career as a clothing designer.


19 comments:

DWB Christian Publishing said...

Thank you, Lizzie for being our host today. I'm sure your followers will enjoy today's post as well as the book.

Marie McGaha
DWB Publishing

Melinda said...

Thank you Lizzie for hosting my daughter here today....We all miss our Tommy...We loved him more than anything in the world...

I would also like to thank Marie and Dancing With Bear Publishing....They are the greatest and we love you so....

Now I would like to say to my precious daughter Shaelee how proud I am of her and that her dad is beside her all the time and is very proud of her....Shaelee your dad loves you more than anything...

Love always,

Mom

Melinda said...

Lizzie,

I have had two people stating they left comments.. but they are not showing up... Is this due to a delay because you have to approve them????

Melinda

Shaelee said...

Thank you Lizzie for hosting me today.

I would also like to thank Marie and Dancing with Bear Publishing.

Thanks to my mom and brother for being here for me.

I know my dad walks with me everyday.
He is the most important thing to me and I miss him dearly. Love you always dad!!!

Shaelee

FireMtn said...

Thank you Lizzie for hosting my sister on your blog today. It means a lot to us. I also want to say good luck to you Shaelee. Dad is very proud.

Beth Trissel said...

What a very touching post. Thanks so much for sharing this.

Victoria Roder said...

Shaelee, your words about your dad are inspiring and could help others deal with their own loss. I wish you the best with your book and your future work to come.

Deb said...

My father passed when I was 16--I know what you're going through, Shaelee. My prayers are with you.

Your essay is a touching tribute to your father.

Paulette Harris said...

So beautiful Shaelee and it took a lot of courage to write this, I'm sure. You did great and will do well in life.

Lizzie thank you for doing this. The whole blog is touching.

Love and hugs from
Paulette Harris
Author.

Shaelee said...

Sorry for the delay in responding to the comments. The blog would not let me post.

Shaelee

Shaelee said...

FireMtn,

Brother thank you for leaving a comment. I love you.

Shaelee

Shaelee said...

Beth,

Thank you for leaving a comment. My mom thinks the world of you. I love my dad so much.

Shaelee

Shaelee said...

Victoria,

Thank you for stopping by. I hope to help somebody with the same pain that I have. Losing my dad has been the hardest thing in the world. Thank you.

Shaelee

Shaelee said...

Deb,

I am sorry to hear about you losing your dad. I know the pain and it never gets easier. I will pray for you too.

Shaelee

Shaelee said...

Paulette,

Thank you for stopping by. My mom loves you to death. Thank you for your words about my dad. I love him so very much and miss him.

Shaelee

Rosemary McKinley said...

I am touched by what you wrote about your Dad. My 92 year-old father just passed away and I feel so fortunate to have had him in my life for so long. Just remember your father's love for you will always be with you even if he is not physically there.

Shaelee said...

Thank you for your kind words dreamlady i know my dad is always with me and your dad will always be with you.

Shaelee

Lizzie said...

Melinda, if comments don't show up it could be because of conflict between the format they use and blogger. I've run into that on some loops when I've tried to leave comments and the site didn't mesh with blogger for whatever reason.

I'm delighted I could share Shaelee's story. Can defintiely understand why you're so proud of her.

I know what it's like to lose someone who is such a big part of your heart and it takes time for the pain to heal. They're always a part of your heart though.

Hugs.

Lizzie said...

Thank you for all the supportive comments for Shaelee and her mom. Let's buy her book and help her grow the college fund. This young lady has lots to contribute to the world!!!!