About The Authors

Ben Kennedy

Ben is 17 years old, in Grade 11 at Dr. John High Gillis High school in Antigonish and has a huge heart. He was born in Antigonish and resides in Lochaber, NS. Although he was only 7 when we drafted the book, he understood at the time how hard this was for all of us. He was very close with his grandmother and was able to just be with her and not question anything she said – even if she said it 50 times.

His best memory of his grandmother are visiting Nanny at nursing home and spending a lot of time with her when she lived at her house in Country Hbr.

Ben loves anything mechanical, all water sports, agriculture and helping others.

Alex Kennedy

Alex is 20 years old and was born in Antigonish. He resides in Lochaber, NS. He has completed the Powerline technician course at NSCC and is following up with the Power Engineering course
at NSCC in the Fall of 2021. Alex is kind and serious and funny and a do-er. He does everything with a passion and energy that most people wish with they had. He loves his friends, his sea-
doo and his dog and of course, his family.

His best memory of his grandmother was watching Nanny with her cat, visiting her at the nursing home and feeding her Cheesies and Fresca. Alex was very close with his grandmother. Being my first child of mom’s only daughter, there was a special bond most likely developed from many hours in the rocking chair.

Marie Kennedy

Marie was born in Country Hbr, Nova Scotia and resides in Lochaber, Nova Scotia with her husband, Allan, their two sons and their two dogs. Marie is the youngest and only daughter and has 7 brothers – Matthew, Jody, Bradley, Mark, Kimball, and Hudson. Jim passed away the same year as our mom. Marie taught high school English for 15 years in Sherbrooke and then went on to do a Masters in Counselling degree from Acadia University. t present, she is a middle school counsellor at Saint Andrew Junior School in Antigonish and a part-time instructor at St Francis Xavier University in the Teacher Education program.

Marie’s bond with her mom was strong although they had a typical mother-daughter relationship that was based on love and strength. The loss of her mom profoundly affected her life. She is hopeful that this book will help others heal and understand that it is going to be OK.

Meaghan Smith - Illustrator

Meaghan is a singer, songwriter, artist, mom and wife. And an incredible human being. When Meaghan decided to do the illustrations, I was not aware of the gift she was giving me. We spent many evenings talking about mom and what the book might look like. The illustrations have taken the book to a whole new level of understanding about the illness. The weaving of Forget me Nots on every page is not only symbolic but represents a unifying thread that ties the story together in subtle ways.

Check out her webpage http://meaghansmith.com/ and her Our Song page: http://oursongmusic.com/