North Wales author and grief guru brings best seller to Oswestry Library

Paula J Roscoe (PJ Roscoe), from Gwernaffield, near Mold decided to tell her own story in her new book, Survive Grief and Come Back to Life, Memoir of a Survivor. This reached best-selling status in just three days in a variety of categories in the UK, USA and Australia.

Following the tragic death of her son, Jac, 28 years ago, Paula said: "Writing saved me. I couldn't face a world without our son, so I instinctively picked up a pencil two weeks after his death and began to write.

"My first award-winning novel, Echoes, was born and I just kept going and every novel won awards, readers loved them but something was missing; I knew I could do more to help people tap into their deeper emotions."

Paula, 53, spent the next few years exploring grief and death, doing short courses on suicide, and death and dying, and after four years qualified as a person-centred counsellor, followed by qualifying as an adult teacher so she could train volunteers to become grief support workers for the charity, Cruse Bereavement Care.

Already a Beauty, Health and Sports Therapist, she went on to train in a variety of holistic and spiritual therapies and healing modalities, such as drumming therapy, and Voice therapy and incorporated these into her sessions.

Paula said: "I loved doing this valuable work but sometimes just talking wasn't enough for my clients, or my students, so I'd instinctively offer a writing exercise or a deep meditation and I began to see a huge shift in results.

"People were healing their mind, body and spirit as I incorporated Angel guidance, a variety of therapies like music and art and I created guided meditations to help my clients go even deeper into their subconscious and heal from the inside out, instead of just touching the surface.

"Most therapy gets clients to 'fine', I take them beyond fine to 'amazing', because life is meant to be more than just 'okay', right?"

She adds: "I wrote the book Survive Grief and Come Back to Life, Memoir of a Survivor, because it is possible to come back to life after any grief and trauma but you need to heal yourself completely, mind, body and spirit because otherwise it's like putting a plaster on an open wound and hoping for the best."

Within Paula's latest release, readers will find three sections: information around grief, a self help section where she divulges 12 ways to begin the healing process, and her own memoir of how she survived a variety of abuses and death.

The author will be holding a short talk on grief and how to heal it and a book signing at Oswestry Library on February 1 between 10.30am - 12 noon.

Paula added: "I am looking for venues around North Wales and the borders to hold 'The Grief Cafe' for a two-hour structured therapy session. I have organised a monthly one that is being held on the second Tuesday of every month. Our first one held in January was a lovely gentle session and I want this group to grow with kindness and awareness of what grief is and it is held between 1pm-3pm pm at Oswestry Library. It is free until April, and then it is £20 a session."