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Welcome #RRBC ‘Spotlight’ author: Michael Lynes. “There Is A Reaper.” Losing a Child to Cancer.

RRBC SPOTLIGHT FEATURE MICHAEL Lynes

Hello, everyone and thanks for joining in this #RRBC ‘Spotlight Author Tour for November’.

Today I’m delighted to present author Michael Lynes.

RRBC SPOTLIGHT GUEST MICHAEL LYNES BIO PIC

Author Bio:

Mr. Lynes is a serial entrepreneur who enjoys dry red wine and single malt scotch. When not occupied with arcane engineering projects he spends his time playing with his two grandchildren, baking bread, feeding seasoned hardwood into his ancient Timberline wood stove, working on his various cars, bird watching and taking amateur photographs. His current menagerie includes one short-haired turtle shell cat and a pair of actual turtles.

His last book, There Is A Reaper: Losing a Child to Cancer, was an Indie B.R.A.G. Gold Medallion Honoree in January 2017, a silver-medal winner of the 2016 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards for Memoir, a medalist in the 2015 New Apple Book Awards for Memoir, a winner of the 2015 TISBA (The Indie Spiritual Bookk Awards), and a finalist in both the Independent Author Network 2015 Book of the Year award and the Beverly Hills Book Awards for 2015.

Mr. Lynes was awarded a BSEE degree in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and currently works as an embedded software engineer. He has a consuming interest in the science of emotion as promulgated by Dr. Paul Ekman and has made a comprehensive study of his Face and Emotion courses.

Mr. Lynes has four sons, has been married for over thirty years and currently lives with his wife and youngest son in the beautiful secluded hills of Sussex County, NJ.

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RRBC SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR HOSTING MICHAEL LYNES

There is a Reaper…Creation

 

Almost four years ago now I first sat down in front of my computer in my office, driven to somehow find a way to honor the memory and life of my son Christopher Aaron.

I thought I would write a few words, something to try and capture some of the memories, some of his spirit, before they became too far removed from memory and distorted by time.

I sat there, really just lost, and unable to find a way to begin. Touching back into those memories was like opening a long shut door, reentering a place of fear and failure and pain that I was not sure I would be able to handle.

I typed a few words and discarded them. And then I typed a few more, with the same result.

I realized that, in order to tell this story I would have to face my fear, and my failure. My fear rooted in the pain that this re-exploration would dredge up; my failure in my inability to prevent or find some way to cure him of this deadly affliction.

These two overarching forces combined to hold me impotent.

In all likelihood, left to my own preferences, this project would have been abandoned, stillborn…but…there was a third force.

Chris.

As I sat there, blank page before me, paralyzed by my own doubt, my own fear, my selfish craven indulgence….it was Chris, clear and sharp and bright and powerful, who appeared in my mind’s eye. I realized that he wanted his story told, that it needed to be out there.

The feeling had grown, imperceptibly…first a wish, then a whisper…then a calling and now an unfulfilled duty.

When Chris had become sick, we were consumed in combating his disease. When he lost his battle we were shattered by his death.

He knew that we needed time, to heal, for the wounds to knit and scar, for his memory to become a story rather than a source of heart-bursting agony.

He had given us that time.

Now he was calling me, back to myself and to my task. I owed him this – and my debt was due.

I nodded my head, silently signing my unspoken contract.

There were many false starts, and many, many days when I laid aside my task, exhausted by the anguish and emptied of tears. Despite all, the promise I made to Chris and to myself that day drove me onward.

The story, Chris’s testimony and epitaph, the memorial of his life here and the start of his life-eternal is now complete, and I fervently pray that it satisfies my debt and honors his memory.

Thank you Chris, for pushing me to complete this work…

I hope you like it.

 

Follow Michael online:

Twitter – https://twitter.com/woodheat

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MLynesAuthor/

Website – https://mikelynes.wixsite.com/mlynesauthor

 

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Michael’s Books:

THE FAT MAN GETS OUT OF BED:  https://www.amazon.com/Fat-Man-Gets-Out-Bed/dp/1938812905

 

THERE IS A REAPER – https://www.amazon.com/There-Reaper-Losing-Child-Cancer-ebook/dp/B00XNZW6C4

RRBC SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR HOSTING MICHAEL LYNES

 

Thank you for stopping by. Please leave your comments below.

46 thoughts on “Welcome #RRBC ‘Spotlight’ author: Michael Lynes. “There Is A Reaper.” Losing a Child to Cancer.”

  1. Thank you, Michael. I’m not surprised that Chris guided you to write. His voice comes through powerfully in There is a Reaper, which tells me that you listen well. 🙂 Thank you for sharing so deeply, and Soooz, thank you for hosting this important post.

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    1. Thank you Gwen. it was, and it is, Christopher who demanded that “There Is A Reaper” be written, and I am just humbled to be his servant in this task. To this day, both Margaret and I are amazed at how many folks have been touched so deeply by his testament, it is his powerful voice, present in the world today, which comes through. Thank you again for all of you very kind words – our best regards – Michael and Margaret Lynes

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  2. “There is a Reaper” was a beautiful book that has stayed with me. I agree with Gwen, Chris’s voice is powerful in the book and I am glad I got to meet him. Powerful post!

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    1. Thank you again D. L. – really there are no words to express how much your comments and those of many others mean to both of us. The loss of a child is a lifelong journey in which at any turn you can find yourself overwhelmed by sudden grief. We are very gratified and comforted in the way that Christopher’s story and testament are able to reach so many others who would otherwise never have met him or knew anything about his life. Thank you and best regards – Michael & Margaret Lynes

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  3. Michael – you and Margaret did Chris’ memory proud! He was a remarkable person with a huge personality and anyone who has read his story and admire his spirit and determination cannot fail to appreciate that. He couldn’t have asked anything more of you. 😀
    Thanks Soooz for being the host with the most! 😉

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    1. Hi Jan! Thank you again for your very kind words. Chris truly was a ‘larger than life’ character, we sometimes wonder what he might have become had his life been spared all those many years ago. We both know that his spirit lives on and we live in hope of our reunion to be.
      Best regards – Michael and Margaret Lynes

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  4. Thank you so very much, Suzanne, for being our host on this final day of the RRBC spotlight blog tour! It has been a wonderful and touching experience and I really can’t thank you and your fellow hosts enough for allowing my words to appear on your blogs. Thank you again and my very best regards – MikeL

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    1. Michael, you and Margaret have endured a loss that no parent can ever prepare themselves for. The pain of reliving that in order to give Christopher a voice would have been utterly gutwrenching. To help share your words here has been an honor. I wish you both serenity.

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    1. Thank you so very much Wendy, it was a labor of love, and even more significant as the years march on. Best reagards – M&M

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  10. Dear Mike, I l know the pain of which you speak. I lost my 14 daughter to a DWI homicide and made her a death promise to let the world know. My outlet for grief was writing about her.We both know our loss is for a lifetime, yet we have no choice .Like you I am gratified by the people our books have helped and I think both our children would be proud of our efforts.I have your book and hope I can read it soon. Prayers for your family.

    Reblogged this on httpmallie1025@wordpress.com/

    Soooz, thank for hosting Mike and his many awards winning memoir.

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  11. Thank you Micki. The loss we share is in many ways an indescribable injury. It is something which truly cannot be understood, except by those who have also gone through the experience. There is not even a word for it…those who lose a spouse are widowers, those who lose parents are orphans but those who lose a child are just broken, in a category of loss so unique and painful that society itself has not found the courage to give it a name. Please accept our deepest sympathy for the loss of your dear daughter. In some ways we were lucky, we had two years with which to fight, along with Chris, for his life. To lose a child so suddenly, to have no warning, no way to reconcile or to fight, is even more devastating. Blessings and peace – Margaret & Michael Lynes

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  12. This is simply beautiful, Michael. I admire your strength and look forward to what comes next for you. Thank you for sharing with us. Thank you for showing how much you deserve this RRBC hot seat. And a big thank you to Soooz for hosting and sharing her site with us.

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  13. Michael, any writer, just beginning, will tell you the same thing. Even starting a new story will put you in the same uncertain mood. But with persistence, we reap rejoicing! 😀 Thank you, Suzanne for hosting him.

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  15. Thank you for sharing your journey, Michael. I can’t imagine your loss, but I felt the love, joy, strength, and pain while reading There Is A Reaper. Thank you for sharing your most precious Christopher with us. Bless you and your family.
    Thank you, Soooz, for hosting, and for the warmest of welcomes.

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