I'll See You Again

by Jackie Hance

Janice Kaplan (Secondary Author)

Ask any parent and they'll tell you that the death of a child is the single worst event that can happen to a parent. Jackie Hance, mother of three vibrant, lovely little girls--Emma (8), Alyson (7), and Katie (5)--would have said the same. Jackie's sister-in-law, Diane Schuler, took her two children and the three Hance girls on a weekend camping trip just a couple hours away. But on the ride back from the trip, Jackie received a horrific phone call from her eldest daughter, Emma, whose last words to her mother were, "Something's wrong with Aunt Diane." Diane Schuler drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway, killing herself, her daughter, three men in another car, and all three of Jackie Hance's darling daughters.
A year after the tragic death of her daughters, Jackie and her husband Warren, both still deep in the throes of grief, accepted the services of an IVF specialist and became pregnant with her fourth child--a daughter they named Kasey. Terrified of loss, Jackie found herself on the edge of insanity during her pregnancy, but has managed to move cautiously forward.

• ISBN10: 147675800X
• ISBN13: 9781476758008
• Publish Date: 4 March 2014 (first published 23 April 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

If you have ever read any other reviews I have written, you know I love a happy ending in my books. Unfortunately, I knew this book would not really have one of those, but I was interested in Jackie Hance's story nonetheless. I hope I never have to experience the loss of a child. I can't imagine how one ever recovers from such a loss. It took tremendous courage to tell this story and Hance is brutally honest throughout.

From the time I heard about this story on the news I have been curious how this seemingly preventable tragedy could have even happened. As one review I read on Goodreads mentioned, this book doesn't really offer any answers as to why Jackie's sister-in-law would have had alcohol & pot in her system at 10:30 in the morning expecially when she would be driving her own young children and her three nieces. Apparently, we will never know since everyone in the car died except Jackie's nephew.

Hance reveals the emotional roller coaster she embarks upon after the death of her three beloved daughters. She details the struggles her marriage suffers, her thoughts of suicide, her worries about the public scrutiny she was constanly under, all the way to her subsequent pregnancy of her fourth child. I could understand all of the emotions she described--anguish, guilt when she did pull herself together enough to "have fun" (how could she ever laugh or smile or celebrate a holiday again when her girls weren't ever going to be able to do the same again?) I cried right along with her (I'm crying again just thinking about it!). I was glad she came to terms--at least as much I can ever imagine one does--with the losss she experienced.

I would recommend this book, but be prepared for a tear-jerker. I think it would be a valuable read for anyone that's grieving, as Hance does provide some hope of "recovery". The unanswerred questions and mystery that surround the accident are hard to accept, but if Hance can move past it I guess we all have to. I wish her and her family & supportive friends well.

Reviewed by Joelle for Cocktails and Books