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Make Connections With Loved Ones
Bridges Between Our Hearts follows a woman on a journey to reconnect with family and friends in a post-pandemic world who struggles with complex relationships and finds solace in her writing. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for the story is that it is the third in a series that follows one woman, her family, and friends through the undulating journey of emotions while adjusting to the grief following a traumatic loss. I endured similar loss several years ago and the loving relationships of those around me, coupled with reflective writing brought me some level of solace. While I did not intend to write specifically about the pandemic, the logical sequence of time passing made it necessary. Ultimately, it provided an interesting backdrop for examining how relationships endure during the best and worst of times.
Larissa struggles to find her way in this post-pandemic world and has to look within herself to find answers. Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
Most of the characters have been developing throughout the trilogy, but new ones were added in this book as well. Readers come to know them through Larissa’s interactions with them, as well as through her private reflections in her diary. I believe that the new characters, as well as the others aging and changing, make for deep, meaningful connections.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Bridges Between Our Hearts?
My hope is that readers appreciate the importance of finding ways to build bridges and make connections with loved ones, regardless of where they are and how much time lapses. There are far too many forces that tend to separate and divide people. I’d like for readers to consider that love does not die when people clash, or a child moves away, or when someone passes away.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I’m working on a non-fiction book about people who find success in life, in spite of being told they most likely will not. Through interviews and story-telling, I hope to inspire those who choose an atypical path. The working title is Funny Thing About Luck… I expect it to be available sometime in mid-2025.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Bridges Between Our Hearts
Bridges Between Our Hearts, by Jennifer Collins, is the poignant conclusion to the Love That Does Not Die trilogy. Set against the backdrop of post-pandemic recovery, the story explores Larissa’s journey as she reconnects with her family, navigates complex relationships, and finds solace in her memories and the act of writing. Readers gain intimate insights into her struggles and triumphs through her diary entries, making this a deeply emotional and relatable narrative.
Collins’s writing is rich and evocative, immersing the reader in Larissa’s inner world. Her prose is both lyrical and accessible, making complex emotions and situations resonate on a personal level. One of the standout aspects of the book is how Collins portrays grief and healing. For instance, Larissa’s reflections on her daughter Emma, who passed away, are heart-wrenching yet filled with a sense of enduring love and connection. This is particularly evident when Larissa participates in a TV show discussing Emma and the tribute song written for her, where she shares her fears and the beauty of her daughter’s legacy.
The novel’s structure, alternating between diary entries and narrative storytelling, allows readers to directly experience Larissa’s raw emotions and thoughts. This format adds a layer of intimacy and authenticity, making the characters’ experiences feel more profound. The scenes where Larissa interacts with her family, especially her grandchildren, are touching and realistic. For example, her relationship with her granddaughter Beth is beautifully depicted through their shared moments and the special “birthday in a tote bag” tradition, highlighting the depth of their bond and the legacy of love Larissa aims to leave.
While I enjoyed the story, I felt that there were moments where the pacing felt somewhat uneven, particularly when transitioning between memories and present events. While these shifts are essential to understanding Larissa’s character development, I think they occasionally disrupt the narrative flow. Despite this minor issue, the book’s emotional weight and heartfelt messages remain impactful. Collins effectively uses these transitions to underscore the theme of bridging past and present, showing how memories and current experiences shape Larissa’s journey.
Bridges Between Our Hearts is a heartfelt exploration of love, loss, and the enduring connections that define our lives. The author captures the essence of familial bonds and the healing power of writing. This book is highly recommended for readers who appreciate deeply emotional narratives and those who have followed Larissa’s story from the beginning of the trilogy.
Pages: 291 | ASIN : B0CRXJ357K
Journey of Grieving
Comfort in the Wings follows one woman’s journey of grieving as she faces emerging secrets and new possibilities. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The primary inspiration for my story of one woman’s journey of grieving comes from my own experiences with traumatic loss of several immediate family members in a short period of time. As I began to speak of my losses openly with others, I found that people were open to sharing their stories with me of loss, grief, and finding a way to move forward in spite of loss. Struck by the many variations of loss and the many ways that people look to signs from nature, or signs from their loved ones for comfort and solace, I became driven to give a voice to those experiences through writing fiction and developing relatable characters with similar journeys.
Larissa is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind her character’s development?
Larissa’s ideals are driven first by her deep, unconditional love for her children. Additionally, she feels for all mothers who have lost children, whether by death, or pregnancy loss, or loss of connection. While early in her journey, she can barely speak to others or function day to day due to sadness, anxiety, and sleeplessness, she eventually becomes motivated by connections to others, and a goal to dispel the stigma around speaking about child loss. She finds as she opens her own heart and mind to the possibility of signs from her loved ones, that she wants to share the possibilities with others.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
A theme that surprised me during my own experiences and I wished to express to others was the realization that seemingly opposite emotions can, and do, co-exist. A person can be feeling deep sadness and gut-wrenching grief, yet still experience joy and gratitude for the beautiful experiences in life that continue to present themselves. Another theme is compassion for others and acceptance of the weaknesses that are part of being human. Finally, the theme of connections is very prevalent. Connections with friends and family, connections with virtual strangers encountered in the airport, connections with loved ones who have passed, through a psychic medium. Connections bring Larissa great comfort throughout her story.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have begun to write another story of Larissa and the people she cares about. They have so many more connections to make with people from the past, and people not yet encountered. I’m hopeful that it will be available in the summer of 2022.
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She will be challenged by unwelcome encounters, confronted by emerging secrets and emotions, and startled to find joy in the most unexpected places. Can her battered heart open to new possibilities?
Comfort in the Wings
Larissa Whitcomb is no stranger to loss. After the death of her daughter, the disappearance of her son, and the end of her marriage, she finds herself in a state of grief so overwhelming, it’s hard to cope. Just when she thinks that everything is returning to some form of sanity, there is another truth to drop that shakes her core. Our story follows Larissa as she tries to piece together the fragments of her once idyllic life and the resilience and hope she learns along the way. Kind strangers, positive affirmations, and seemingly out of nowhere symbols of peace, Larissa finds her grief waning at unexpected moments. Though it can never be forgotten, we find that it can become less of a burden to bear.
Be still my heart- as it was broken several times in the reading of this book. I laughed, I cried, and I hoped right along side Larissa it seems. Jennifer Collins does such a great job of illustrating the process of grief in her book, Comfort in the Wings. With the apt descriptions and inner monologues of the main character, each chapter brought on a new level of empathy in me as a reader. I could tell that there was a lot of work and research that went into this book as overly unidentified processes were brought to light and how cruel they can be to a grieving family. Jennifer Collins did not want to skip any part of Larissa’s mourning and it shows.
I’d give this book a 5/5 from pure emotion alone. Of course, there are other aspects to my rating; character development, plot, and realism are all impeccable- especially for a first time novelist. The key feature, as I mentioned above, is the emotion. This book will make you cry, whether it be in sadness or joy. I would recommend this book to all those who have experienced loss and even those who haven’t as the empathy the book gives you is truly astounding.
Pages: 310 | ASIN: B09GX4BXX7
LITERARY TITAN 