Each year about eight million Americans suffer the death of a close family member. The list of high visibility disasters, human suffering and sudden loss is long and will continue to grow. From TWA Flight 800 to Egypt Air, from Oklahoma City to Columbine, daily we face incomprehensible loss. Outside the publicized tragedies there are many families and individuals that are suffering behind closed doors in our neighborhoods, in our own homes, in hospital waiting rooms. Now for those who face the challenges of sudden death, there is a hand to hold. Both authors lost a loved one tragically. Noel's brother was stung by a bee and died instantly at age 27. Blair's husband died of a brain aneurysm. As they struggled to rebuild they found little printed material. I Wasn't Ready to Say Good-bye is the first book to devote all its pages to the unique challenges of sudden loss, written by two women who have walked the path. They cover such difficult topics as the first few we! eks, suicide, death of a child, when a body isn't found, children and grief, funerals and rituals, physical effects, homicide, depression and many others.