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WIDOW AWAKENS TO NEW LIFE

WIDOW AWAKENS TO NEW LIFE IN CANDID BOOK ABOUT DEATH


Thur Feb 2, 2012 – What would you do if your life’s dream was granted to you…in exchange for your soul mate’s life? That was the harsh reality for Maryanne Pope, when her police officer husband died in the line of duty at age 32.

Const. John Petropoulos fell to his death in Sept 2000, after stepping through an unmarked false ceiling (there was no safety railing in place) during the investigation of a suspected break-and-enter. There ended up being no intruder in the building.

Hours before John fell, he and Maryanne had an argument about her not making her dream of writing a priority. “We were at the dog park,” says Pope, “and John looked at me and said, ‘Twenty years from now, if you still haven’t written a book, just remember that will have been your choice.’”

“That was our last conversation,” says Pope. “The next time I saw John was in the emergency room.”

Please click here to listen to an audio clip (1 min 30 sec) from the creative non-fiction book, A Widow’s Awakening.

Two weeks after John’s death, Pope began writing what would become A Widow’s Awakening.

Eight years later, in Sept 2008, Maryanne published the book through her company, Pink Gazelle Productions. The print version has sold 1500 copies. With the audio version now available, the author hopes to reach more people with the powerful message that what happens to us matters far less than what we choose to do with it.

“John’s death was a brutal wake-up call,” admits Pope, “about the importance of working hard to achieve one’s dream, instead of just talking about it. But it was also an incredible awakening of my soul to the realization of just how interconnected we all are…even in death.”

In a strange twist of fate, it was John’s dream of policing that ended up giving Maryanne the opportunity to pursue her dream of writing. “Because John died in the line of duty,” Pope explains, “this meant I was entitled to receive his paycheque for the rest of my life. For a writer, this was a dream come true.”

But it came at tremendous cost. “Nothing I do will bring John back. But I do have a choice on how to live my life. And I choose to honour him – and myself – by gratefully accepting the freedom his death has given me and helping make the world a better place through my writing, my company and the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund.”

The candour of A Widow’s Awakening is striking a chord with readers.

“WOW!” wrote one person. “As soon as I read the first line, I couldn’t put the book down. The truth on soul-mates, hope, after-life, happiness, sadness…you definitely told your tale as it is.”

“I just finished reading A Widow’s Awakening. I laughed, I cried, I reflected,” wrote another. “I wanted you to know that it had exactly the effect on me that I imagine you wanted for your readers. My eyes, ears and heart were opened to many things, including the belief and trust in love and soul mates (which I myself have lost sight of) and the importance of passion and commitment to the work we do, regardless of what it is.”

Please click here for further information on A Widow’s Awakening. To purchase a copy, please click here.

To purchase the audio book, click here.

For further inquiries, please contact:

Sarah Hourihan
sarah@pinkgazelle.com
(403) 620-5440

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