ESTEVAN - Stacey Grimes Wempe is looking to help people navigate through grief with her first book, A Million Times We Cry.
The southeast Saskatchewan author's memoir was released Sept. 10, which would have been her brother Clinton Grimes' 50th birthday. He died in a collision in 1997, and the book reflects on how Stacey Grimes Wempe handled the tragedy and other tough times.
"People have been getting a hold of me and saying they really loved the book," said Grimes Wempe in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday. "They also said that it was like they were a passenger in my story."
They also felt like they weren't alone in their grief when reading her story.
But it's also a look back at her life and her family's history. Her book includes pictures dating back to when her grandfather and great-grandfather were young. Photos tell the story of her parents and their families, and there are photos of Grimes Wempe and her husband Keith Wempe that date back to when they were in high school.
Writing the book left her feeling vulnerable and it was a difficult process, she said. At one point, Grimes Wempe reconnected with her brother's girlfriend Marsha and heard, for the first time, about what happened the night he died.
"We talked for about two hours about that night. I wanted to keep it out; I didn't want to think about what happened and I didn't want to ask. So, she told me what happened. I talk to her quite a bit now."
She was in Clint's life for a short period of time, and she was only 17 when the accident happened, but Grimes Wempe said her brother was very happy with their relationship.
"She was the same age as my daughter Katie in 2021, so I talk about how I didn't really deal with my grief around her very well, because I was blaming and I was angry and everything like that, but how can you be angry at a 17-year-old that was looking for help?"
Grimes Wempe is glad they have been able to reconnect.
The book also talks about how Grimes Wempe went through post-partum depression and other trying times.
"You get really vulnerable. But it was very healing. I didn't realize writing was so healing," she said.
Even if you're not going through grief, if you persevere and find the right help by hiring the right person through a counsellor or a life coach, you can make it through and know you're not alone.
"I think now with social media and everything, people feel that they're not alone, and feel that [other] people do understand," said Grimes Wempe.
Since the book came out, people have reached out to her on social media or have texted her to say thanks. A lot of the positive feedback has come from people in the southeast, but she has also received positive feedback from total strangers who don't live in the region.
"I think it really all around captures what I went through in the 27 years, that I wrote from," said Grimes Wempe.
At one point after its release, A Million Times We Cry was No. 1 on the Amazon bestseller list for grief-related books, and was still No. 4 on Saturday.
Grimes Wempe said it was a regret of her late father Mel Grimes – an accomplished businessman and philanthropist – that he never wrote a book. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grimes-Wempe hired a ghost writer from Victoria, B.C. They never met, but they collaborated on the book.
"It took four years, but it was well worth it. Not only is it a memoir, but there are life-coaching questions at the end of the book that are thought-provoking. I think I captured my story, and I … always say to have a journal at the end, because there's some really good questions at the end of the book about life and grief," said Grimes Wempe, who owns Support You Life Coaching and Consulting.
Journaling is a great way to heal and chronicle feelings, she said.
A Million Times We Cry is available online through Amazon and Grimes Wempe said it is expected to be on Audible in October. It can also be purchased through Indigo Books. She will also have events at libraries and elsewhere where people can attend and purchase the book, and eventually, she hopes it will be at local businesses.
Grimes Wempe said she is grateful for the support from people in the community, including family, friends and the team at Scotsburn Dental. It's been really nice when people have asked if she has finished her book or when it would be published.
"It's like a family in Estevan and the surrounding communities, and I feel so honoured and so supported in our community. I don't know what I would do without our community," she said.
A Million Times we Cry was published by Forefront Books.
