The Jennifer Tree

"There is nothing worse than losing a child. Death, starvation, torture-all pale by comparison. Your child is your hope, your love, your destiny. Most parents would agree." After the loss of a beautiful, talented daughter, the author's family starts to unravel. As the family grieves, a long and stable marriage begins to fall apart. To try to save the marriage, the author reflects on the love she felt for her husband, before children. Beadle recalls their early years in Tanzania. From close encounters with angry elephants, to a dangerous dance with a black mamba snake, to malaria, homesickness, helplessness, and guilt, the couple's relationship has withstood the trials of time and place ... until now. Beadle also captures her daughter, Jen's, remarkable life, growing up in Ottawa, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Jamaica, the Philippines, Paris, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh. Voodoo rituals, scuba diving adventures, dancing semi-professionally in Jamaica, and combing the high hills of Ethiopia to search for the Abyssinia wolf-Jennifer did it all, only to die too young from cancer. We are left feeling like we know Jenny and her family, and rooting for her parents to stay together-to escape the oppressive weight of regret, guilt, and fear that is spawned by the death of a child. "The Jennifer Tree" is a sensitive and inspiring journey through joy and grief, told through the lens of dynamic world travellers.