Widow is stunned by help

Midlothian Advertiser

7/6/2012

Campbell Hutcheson

Midlothian Advertiser article: Widow is stunned by help

A young widow fighting cancer has been stunned by the public support for her bid to publish her first book.

Elke Barber (37), from Gorebridge, is in a race against time to publish her book, Is Daddy Coming Back In A Minute?

The book on bereavement aims to help young children come to terms with the sudden death of a parent.

It is based on conversations with her son, Alex, who, aged three, was the sole witness to the tragic death of his father, Martin, in 2009.

As reported in the Advertiser, Elke is using ‘crowdfunding’ to raise the £8,000 needed to ensure publication via the Bloom venture catalyst website.

As we went to press, the figure had reached £5,375.

The mother of two has until midnight on July 27 to achieve her funding target.

The internet community has been quick to respond to her request with donations and messages of support. Backers and supporters have spread the word via Twitter and Facebook.

In messages on her web page, she said: “Wow. Just wow. I simply can’t believe what I’m seeing. You guys are totally amazing.

“I am stunned. Overwhelmed isn’t the word.

“The human kindness that has been shown to me and my family has been truly overwhelming.

“I feel very humble indeed. Thank you all so much!”

Mrs Barber was diagnosed with breast cancer in April and is undergoing chemotherapy.

The treatment makes her too ill to care for her children, Alex (6) and Olivia (3), so her partner, John Thompson, has taken unpaid leave to offer practical and emotional support.

With family finances being tight, Elke has turned to the global community to help achieve her publishing ambition.

Donna Hastings, the senior practitioner at Richmond’s Hope, the children’s bereavement charity, said: “Elke has managed to capture the difficult task of explaining death to very young children in a way that they can understand for their age and stage of development.

“This book is written with compassion in an honest, powerful way.

“It’s a beautiful book that will undoubtedly help so many. I would highly recommend it.”

  • To find out more about Elke’s book project and make a contribution, go to http://www.bloomvc.com/project/Is-Daddy-Coming-Back-in-a-Minute

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