Butterflies – A True Story of Life, Death & Rebirth
Debra’s mother, Bonnie, has cancer…again…and this time it’s too far along for any real hope of survival.
Bonnie’s already struggling with what life has already dealt her: a troublesome, painful first marriage, her first battle with cancer, and most recently, a second divorce resulting in her decision to move near Debra, where the two partner in a struggle to help Bonnie create a fresh start. Bonnie is fearfully aware that she is now 60, and struggles with loneliness, fear, a desperate search for a new love, and sometimes nearly debilitating depression.
And now this.
Throughout the story, Debra reminisces with flashbacks of her past. She describes her parents’ turbulent marriage, recalls memories of her family and childhood. She tells the inspiring story of Bonnie’s lifelong pattern of overcoming any obstacle, and remains in foolish denial, convinced her mother will survive, despite Bonnie’s rapid deterioration. Horrific events occur one after another, but in the midst of it all, the two experience heartwarming moments together as mother and daughter.
Bonnie’s death occurs in complete contradiction to Debra’s being convinced she’d survive, and results in a level of grief that leaves Debra so weakened and exposed that she spills descriptions of her anguish with daringly revealing honesty. She reveals her thought process, her grief, with shockingly candid, raw truth.
Bonnie’s death results in a surprising healing process, similar to the evolvement of butterflies. Bonnie breaks free of the cocoon and blossoms into an inspiring force that reaches across all barriers, even death. And Debra seeks answers, resulting in her metamorphosis from a grief-stricken, failure-of-a-caregiver, into an enlightened version of her former self.
