 This book has been a reminder to me about the importance of families loving and caring for each other no matter what struggles and difficulties they may have. Heather Summerhayes Cariou is honest and transparent as she shares the story of her sister’s life.
Sixty-Five Roses is a compelling story of the love and life of two sisters. Heather and Pam were raised in the baby-boomer age of the 50’s and 60’s.in Brantford, Ontario. When Heather was six and Pam four, Pam was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
As you read through this amazing story you will find a ribbon of love that will bind this family together through many struggles, heartaches, joys and accomplishments.
The magic rock
Heather and Pam grew very close and enjoyed many years playing together. One day when they were out playing, Pam had found a large pink granite rock half-embedded in mud and hidden by a tangle of weeds. They just new this rock was MAGIC. They raced home to tell their dad and he took the forklift from work and moved the rock to their front lawn. It soon became a place where the sisters would sit and dream and make wishes. When they moved their father arranged to have the rock moved with them.
Although Pam was often sick, and spent many weeks at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, the family was always there for her.
Pam was a very positive person; she seemed to be always finding the silver lining. She loved life and dreamed dreams of a future. Striving to live a normal teenage life, she and Heather would fight and argue, laugh and play together just like normal kids—but underneath was the constant threat that Pam would die at a young age. At that time kids with cystic fibrosis did not live into their teens.
A full life
But Pam beat those odds with determination, willpower and a strong desire for a full life. She finished high school and then eventually got accepted at a college where she studied Early Childhood Education.
Heather loved acting and pursued a career on stage, where she met and married her husband. Wanting her sister to be able to live her dreams, she, as the older sister, struggled with the urge to protect her sister so that she wouldn`t lose her. It was gut-wrenching to watch her sister struggle with this disease.
Sixty-Five Roses is a story for everyone, especially for those who live a healthy life with healthy family members, to appreciate what they have and also to help understand those families who are not so fortunate. For those families who live daily with an illness, handicap or other infirmity, this book will encourage them to look for the best in life regardless. To love each other through it all and to stick together.
The Ribbon of Love that I see in the lives of Heather, Pam and their family is an encouragement to all. Pam may have passed from this life, but through this book her life lives on in all who read it. Hers was a full life of determination, love, commitment, laughter, sorrow and encouragement. It doesn’t matter how long you live, but that you live it with Grace.
About the Author
Heather Summerhayes Cariou was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario. Her father is the Founding President for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CCFF), and both her parents are recipients of the Order of Canada in recognition for their work in inaugurating the CCFF. Heather is a professional actress and dancer who resides in New York City with her husband, Len Cariou.
Author: Heather Summerhayes Cariou
Number of pages: 430
Publisher: McArthur & Company
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