“I wrote this poem 6 days after my sister passed away suddenly. She had survived 2 heart transplants and was in GREAT health when she was taken from us. This poem explains everything I was going through at the time and am still going through now, 3 months later. My sister was an incredible wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend. She will always be missed!” ~Catherine

Constantly thinking,
never to be the same,
the tears fall quickly
just hearing your name.

Silence is golden
yet not anymore
silence brings thoughts
I just can’t ignore.

The nights are sleepless,
dreams out of reach.
Crying in my pillow
to you I beseech.

Surrounded by family,
I still feel alone.
My heart is so empty,
this pain I must own.

I wish I could hug you
and just see your face.
But now I have memories
to stand in your place.

Gone but not forgotten,
that’s what they say.
Of course that is true…
but if only you could of stayed.

~Catherine Lamberton

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Today, being the anniversary of when my sister’s body was found, is a rather disquieting day for me…being that it is a reminder of all the horror and sadness my family had to endure as a result of Cindy’s sudden and mysterious death.

I was simply bumbling my way through the day, trying to make the best of it, when Alice, from Ulverston, was brought to my attention.
Who’s she, you ask?

She’s the fifteen-year-old living in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in northwest England who’s using a Blog “to document this precious time with my family and friends, doing the things I want to do” …before cancer overtakes her. She’s been fighting cancer for almost four years.

“… The cancer is now spreading through my body. It’s a pain because there’s so much stuff that I still want to do,” writes Alice in one of her recent Blog posts.

“… Anyway, mum always tells me that life is what we make of it and so I’m going to make the best of what I have and because there were so many things I still wanted to do, mum suggested that I turn my ideas into a bucket list. … I’m not expecting to do everything on it. Some of the things are just not going to happen because I can’t even leave the country now (I’m too much of a risk), but they’re on there, because they were on my ‘to do’ list at some point.”

So today I’m asking you to go ahead and check out her Blog…and see if you can help her fulfill any of her dreams.

“You only have one life to live,” writes Alice “-live it!”

Thanks for the reminder, Alice!!! I’m going to have a spectacular day…because you are correct…we ought to LIVE IT!!!

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

“Have somebody rip your heart out and hold it in front of your face and just have them squeeze the life out of it. That’s the only way I can express that kind of a pain. Like…it’s torturous,” thirty-eight-year-old Tammy Marquardt said today when asked about how it felt to be wrongly convicted of murdering her two-and-a-half-year-old son Kenneth.

She spent almost fourteen years in prison because (the now disgraced) Pathologist Dr. Charles Smith had given false testimony in 1995—he said Tammy had strangled or smothered her son when in fact it wasn’t possible to determine the cause of the boy’s death…Kenneth could have died a sudden death brought on by an epileptic seizure (he had been treated for seizures eight times and had also suffered from asthma and pneumonia).

To date, the Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned seven convictions connected to Smith’s faulty testimony.

For Tammy, the nightmare is finally over.

“You are free to go now, ma’am,” she was told.

“Now Kenneth can finally rest in peace!” Tammy says.

And Tammy can grieve.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Sister
Do I dare to compare your love
To the lighthouse engulfed in fog
Shining its beacon of light
That guides through stormy seas

Sister
Do I dare to compare your love
To the soft whispers carried on a breeze
As it rustles through copper colored leaves
Words of encouragement

Sister
Do I dare to compare your love
To the snow capped mountains
Majestic peaks against a soft hue of blue
The epitome of strength

Sister
Do I dare to compare your love
To the vast meadows of wildflowers
A motley of colors put on display
Simplifying beauty

Sister
Do I dare to compare your love
To the endless skies overhead
And its never-ending exhibit of light and dark
Infinite

~Lana Hensley

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

“I awake each morning full of energy and eager to see what experiences and joys the universe will provide me with that day. I approach each day with gratitude and a peaceful knowledge that I am constantly moving toward my desires.”

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Eighty-three-year-old Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan pathologist who supported physician-assisted suicide and “right-to-die” legislation and put assisted suicide on the world’s medical ethics stage, died today at Beaumont Hospital in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. He had been hospitalized for pneumonia and a kidney-related ailment.

Through the 1990s he was charged with murder numerous times for helping terminally ill patients take their own lives. And in 1999 he was convicted on second-degree murder charges stemming from the death of a patient who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was paroled in 2007.

We do not know what Dr. Kevorkian’s final days and hours were like.

Had he been hooked up to a machine to prolong his life?

Did he receive pain medication to ease his transition from this life?

Apparently he himself did not commit assisted suicide—he died from a blood clot that broke free in his leg and lodged in his heart.

No doubt his death will spark a renewed debate over the issues of assisted suicide and the right to choose.

In your eyes, was he a hero…or a killer?

Whatever your position, he will always be remembered as the man who tried to prevent the needless suffering in others.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

When you wake up in the morning, take the first 10 to 30 minutes or so to start thinking about what kind of day you would like to experience.

What kind of person would you like to be?

What would you like to have?

How would you like your business day to go?

What kind of people would you like to meet?

How would you like to spend your free time?

If you’re not choosing the details of your life, then you are literally settling for life’s leftovers.

How do you feel when you first wake up? Are you eager to get out of bed and greet the possibilities of the new day? Or are you resentful at having to get up, afraid of what might be coming today because you know that life is going to continue to throw monkey wrenches into your plans?

The decision is yours. You get to decide each morning just how you intend your day to go.

You get to control how you respond to every little thing that happens throughout your day.

Listen to something inspirational or motivational as you are getting ready for your day, read a passage from your favorite inspirational book, spend a few moments thinking about the actions that you can take today to move you toward your dreams. Set the stage for your success today.

Just do something.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

You have no idea how I would do almost anything to be able to talk with my sister Cindy …to hug her…to tell her I love her…and to bring her up-to-date with all the special things that have been happening in my family…the new additions, the awards, the trips…

Twenty-two years ago today, Cindy.

Never thought I would still miss you so much!

Love you girl!!

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

Contemplating that my attitude upon waking can determine the outcome of my day…has been such a beautiful gift to me.  It has given me the power to influence my mood every day by the thoughts I entertain each morning.

Now I begin each day by repeating, “This is the best day of my life, ever.”

What you say to yourself in private sets in motion the law of attraction to create positive or negative experiences. Your thoughts and words are the building blocks…the brick and mortar of your creation. The words of your mouth are a creative force…you can create your world with WORDS, so use them wisely. Your words are predestining your future. They are the construction crew of your life. Use them carefully to construct the day…and the life…you really want to live!

“This is the best day of my life, ever.”

Pre-thinking has brought you to this place in life. Words spoken in the past have created your present. If you are happy with the results you have obtained then you’ve used the proper building blocks of thoughts and words to get you to this place.

However, some of you may not be happy with the results. Perhaps releasing negative words out of your mouth has sabotaged you, setting in motion a negative outcome.

But you don’t have to be doomed to discouragement or failure!

YOU, and you alone, can take the present circumstances of your life and turn them around to create the life of your dreams.

The power to create a healthy, prosperous, and blessed life is in the words you choose to entertain and speak moment by moment.

So speak consciously and deliberately.

“This is the best day of my life, ever.”

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James

“Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!

There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I’m going to celebrate!

Today, I’m going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.

I will go through this day with my head held high, and a happy heart.”

~Excerpt from The Best Day of My Life by Gregory M. Lousignont, Ph.D.

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James