YOU’RE SO STRONG
On Grief & Letting Go of My Favorite Compliment
One moment, Leslie had it pretty darn good, and the next, she was a thirty-year-old widow and single mom to two rowdy boys, ages three and under. Thrust into the arms of grief, her new life consisted of strange tasks, like notifying AT&T that her husband no longer needed unlimited data and deciding what to do with his grown-man Lego collection while she also planned a memorial and parented solo.
Throughout this memoir, Leslie tries and fails to live up to her favorite compliment and do grief well for all those around her. She discovers the hard way that no one is actually grading her on her grief and that surviving is often more beautiful than thriving.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“It is no small feat to author a page-turning story that manages light-hearted laughs and weighty vulnerability in the same book, often even the same page. Someone might call that biting off more than you can chew, but the further you churn into these pages the more you’ll realize that’s kind of how Leslie Harter-Berg rolls. And she pulls it off flawlessly.”
- Tyler Staton, author of The Familiar Stranger, Prayer Like Monks, Living Like Fools, and Searching For Enough
"Leslie's memoir is a profound and unputdownable window into the crushing reality of young widowhood and solo parenting. With raw, heart-wrenching honesty, grief-earned wisdom, and unexpected humor, she offers a powerful invitation for anyone navigating loss to embrace self-compassion."
- Jana DeCristofaro, Host of Grief Out Loud Podcast
"Leslie Harter-Berg daftly leads us through hard truths - that the good that comes later never redeems the wound of loss. And yet, she shows with fierce honesty how grief, when carried, can turn into a strange kind of strength—one that remakes a life without erasing its scars. A must read for anyone walking through the grief of losing a loved one.”
-Scott Erickson, author of Honest Advent and In The Low
“This is not just a memoir—it’s a companion for anyone who’s ever lost someone they loved and wondered how to keep living. A breathtaking, soul-deep reminder that even in the shadow of grief, light—and laughter—still find a way in.”
- Kayla Stoecklein, author Rebuilding Beautiful
“Honest. Funny. Helpful. Heartbreaking. Hopeful. These were the words that came to me while I read, couldn’t stop reading, You’re So Strong. Leslie’s words remind me to be a friend who looks closer, that embracing the good doesn’t have to mean burying the bad, to look for God in the less-sacred spaces, and most of all, that God holds all of us in the waiting. Her book spoke to my soul. I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know.
-Greta Eskridge, author of It’s Time to Talk to Your Kids About Porn, host of The Greta Eskridge Podcast
