Death of a Mother is a true story. The author and her mother are in the photo of a book signing at a library. When the author's mother died, the author experienced both grief and guilt. It was a long slow struggle, but she finally recovered. The author was close to her mother, so it was hard for her to relive the experience at she wrote this book, but she wanted to help others through their time of sorrow. Death of a Mother can be used prior to the impending death of someone or after the death of someone. Everyone grieves differently, so the appropriate time for a grieving person to read this book varies with each person. Though this book is specifically about dealing with the death of a mother, its wisdom can be applied to any grief situation.