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Kate Ellen's avatar

I will be reading this book! Keep that beautiful faith in your process, hard and slow as it may be because what you’re birthing is needed by us out here in the world. 🩷⚡️

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

This means so much, Kate. Thank you for reflecting that faith back to me, it’s a powerful thing to feel witnessed, especially in the slow, uncertain parts of the process. Can’t wait to share it with you when the time comes.

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Carol Rogero's avatar

I feel this. The excerpt you shared is so beautiful. Next month will mark 2 years since I lost my son to suicide. Writing has been difficult for me and I have actually feared that I’ve “lost my words “. Signed, Sad and trying to write with you

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

Thank you for sharing this with me, Carol. I’m so sorry for the loss of your son. I can only imagine the depth of that grief, and I want you to know, I truly see you.

I’ve felt that fear too, the one that whispers the words might be gone for good. But I believe they’re still there, quietly waiting, reshaping themselves in the dark. Sometimes writing isn’t about having the words, but about making space for them to return when they’re ready.

You are not alone in this.

Sending love. Always.

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Carol Rogero's avatar

Thank you for your heartfelt response Lisa. It truly means a lot.💞

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

Thank you for being here, Carol.

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Amrita Skye Blaine's avatar

Gorgeous beginning. I look forward to reading this.

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

Thank you so much, Amrita. That means a lot, especially with something that feels this tender to share. I’m so glad the beginning landed with you. I can’t wait to share more when the time is right. And truly, thank you for being here.

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Karla Smith's avatar

As I read this, I connected sadly and beautifully with you…

I lost my Dad six years ago now, and every time I see a red-tailed hawk I know it’s him. I also know every heads-up coin that appears in my life is from him. I don’t talk about these things with people because I’m afraid they’ll think I’m nuts, but (have to) believe he’s still in my life — watching over me, protecting and loving me from wherever he went/is.

I used to cry multiple times a day; now I only cry when I think of him, and that is not every day…

I believe grief never leaves you.

If I were to describe my grief physically, I’d say:

“It used to be so burdensome; like several heavy bags that I carried around to EVERY SINGLE PLACE I WENT.

Now the grief I feel for the incredible loss of my Dad presents like a small warm ache in my heart and radiates through me to the surface of my skin. It’s actually a very reassuring feeling...”

You’re an incredibly beautiful writer, and I can’t wait for your book to be available so I can read more…

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

Thank you for this beautiful, vulnerable reflection, Karla. I’m so sorry you lost your dad. The way you describe his presence, the red-tailed hawks, the heads-up coins, it’s sacred. I believe you. And I know those signs are real. They’re part of the language grief teaches us. Energy is eternal.

Your description of how grief lives in your body now, less burdensome, more like a warm ache, is stunning. It’s such a powerful reminder that grief doesn’t disappear, it transforms. And in that transformation, it can become something that holds us as much as we hold it.

Thank you for trusting me with this piece of your story. I’ll be holding your dad in my heart today, and thinking of that ache that radiates love.

I’m so moved to know you’ll be reading the book when it’s ready. That means more than I can say. Thank you for seeing me and for letting me see you, too.

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David Poznansky's avatar

Wow, Lisa! Just when I think I'm standing right in the abundance of a bustling flower market—beauty in motion, reading your work—a phantasmagoria of insight, color, and light— I turn a corner and notice something completely new and fascinating.

That's so thrilling to hear you are working on a debut novel- and clearly one that is undeniably inspired. I’ve been thinking a lot about a Rilke quote lately: that for art to be good, it must come from a place of necessity. That feels notably at play here.

What a beautiful honor and tribute to your friend, and may their memory continue to be a blessing. Trust the process, write for yourself first, and shepherd both the easy and difficult creative moments as they come. But know this—the second preorders are available, you'll have many eager readers waiting, myself included.

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

And hey, mind if I share this comment on Notes? Hard not to spread something far and wide that has the word PHANTASMAGORIA.

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David Poznansky's avatar

1000% ! feel free to share away :)

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Lisa Anderson Shaffer, LMFT's avatar

Well David, you had me at phantasmagoria! What a gift this is to read, thank you. The Rilke quote feels so deeply aligned with this particular project. Necessity is exactly it. The writing isn’t just calling, it’s insisting. Which is annoying at times, yet somehow that insistence feels both wild and sacred.

Thank you for seeing the spirit of this work, and for holding space for both the beauty and the difficulty. It means so much to know you’ll be there when it’s ready. It is going to be sure a weird and wild tale. Loss is beautiful and terrible.

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