"Something was wrong. My husband, Joe, had left my hospital room only a few minutes before, but already a foreboding feeling was enveloping me." Chapter 1, The First Night, pg. 1

"I had always thought that my husband and children would eventually replace the family I had missed in my childhood. I had promised myself that when I married and began my own family that they would be my prime interest and my greatest refuge."

Chapter 2, The Night Deepens, pg. 14

"My doctor was standing by me, saying that the surgery had been a success and that I should be feeling fine shortly." Chapter 3, The Second Day, pg. 26

"Then I felt a surge of energy. It was almost as if I felt a pop or release inside me, and my spirit was suddenly drawn out through my chest and pulled upward, as if by a giant magnet. My first impression was...