Mary Lee Robinson, Author of The Widow or Widower Next Door, Invites Communities to Notice Those Who Have Felt Loss and Set an Extra Plate This Holiday Season

"Set an Extra Plate Initiative" seeks to break the silence surrounding grief and encourage conversation between neighbors.

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Mary Lee Robinson

Nov 13, 2014, 08:30 ET

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mary Lee Robinson, author, announces the "Set an Extra Plate Initiative." Mary Lee found herself quite alone for holiday meals and celebrations. According to Mary Lee Robinson, people tend to forget the widows and widowers at holiday times. They don't realize how alone they may be during the toughest times of the year for those grieving.

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Along with her church, Mary Lee is encouraging everyone to look around them. Look around at work, in the neighborhood, and at church, and notice those who are alone or have had a recent loss. Then perform the simplest community service by inviting them to your holiday table. Set an extra plate!

Why is this initiative so important? Fifty percent of happily married couples will become The Widow or Widower Next Door, the title of the book now available in eBook form from Amazon.com. Each one will find themselves alone, at some point.

Most everyone knows that losing a mate to death is a painful experience. Those who have not had such a loss of someone very close, seldom realize the depth and breadth of that pain. As a result, they distance themselves from grievers. Most all of the 25 storytellers who participated in writing this book found themselves surprised by other people's reactions to their loss.

The Widow or Widower Next Door is a collection of stories of 25 widowed storytellers who "hope to educate others who care about those with a loss, about what is helpful, and what is not. The intent is to take the profits of book sales and use them to start other widow and widowers social clubs in other cities."

We hope this book will get people thinking and preparing, and we hope that it will help them learn how to better help a friend or a neighbor with such a loss. We suggest, at this time of year, Set an Extra Plate! Isn't it time to talk about it?

Book Name: The Widow or Widower Next Door
Company: Next Door Books
Publisher: Mill City Press (October 16, 2014)
Sold at: www.maryleerobinson.com
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Mary Lee Robinson
PO Box 51778
Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
330-240-1756
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewidoworwidowernextdoor

Twitter: MaryLeeRobinson@WidNext

Website: MaryLeeRobinson.com

SOURCE Mary Lee Robinson