Permission to Thrive: My Journey from Grief to Growth

Susan Angel Miller’s book, Permission to Thrive, takes the reader behind the scenes and inside the author’s private experiences and emotions as she deals with the unthinkable….the sudden loss of her oldest daughter at 14 years old. Her story continues to share the family’s decision of organ donation as well as an eerily similar illness as their daughter’s. Susan’s book is very well written, heartfelt, honest, raw, emotional, heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Her writing allows the reader to feel that they are in her mind, witnessing all that she is feeling, experiencing and struggling with first hand….everything that anyone would be feeling in her shoes. It allows the reader to understand how to relate to someone that is struggling with issues similar to hers. Not only does she take the reader through her experiences of trauma, she also takes us through the side of healing. She discusses how the importance of community, mindfulness and meditation, Post Traumatic Growth and ultimately sharing her story all were valuable in her healing. Susan’s book is truly inspiring and a must read for anyone that has or knows someone that has experienced trauma.

A moving, heartbreaking and inspiring story of one mom's and one family's journey from a horrible tragedy of losing a child to finding great strength and giving themselves a permission to Thrive.

As a medical student, I learned about death and dying. As a physician, I have had the opportunity to have those that I have cared for die. As a maturing adult, family members and friends have died. Susan's book has helped me better understand my own feelings of death as well as those of grieving families. Her thoughtful analysis of the feelings of she and her family brings the reader on the journey of healing. There is much to learn here.

Ms. Miller’s book is startlingly descriptive and honest as she chronicles not only her devastating loss but also how she recognizes and changes her world view so that she can thrive for herself and others. I’ve known Ms. Miller for several years and while she has shared her story with me personally it was not until I read the book that I understood the extent of her tremendous courage and tenacity and that of her family. A powerful and inspiring read and learning to start 2019.

I could not put this book down. It is a story of love, strength, and resiliency. Susan Angel Miller’s honesty and transparency in sharing her experience of the loss of her daughter, her own brain injury, and her journey of surviving loss to thriving was raw, moving, and inspiring. She offers us a path of not only thriving but of living and loving and continuing to make a positive impact in the world.

Permission to Thrive is a beautiful reminder that good can come from tragedy, if we are open to it. While few among us will thankfully suffer the same tragic loss as the Millers, none of us are protected from sorrow. This book is a must read.

Angel Miller tells an authentic, moving, and vripping story of tragedy in her life She recognizes that there is strength and positive outcomes can come forth out of true pain. I can’t temember the last time I sat down and read an entire book in one sitting. It is truly an inspiring book!

Susan Angel Miller crafted a well written account of her family experience with loss, grief and growth. This book will speak to anyone who has experienced profound loss and will enlighten everyone with the possibility of healing and growth following such trauma.

Amazing. The journey of Susan and her family will remind you how strong and powerful the human spirit is. The family took personal tragedy and turned it into a miracle for another family. Thank you for sharing Laura’s story, your story, and the importance of organ donation to the world.

A wonderful book that is sure to inspire all who read it. Susan shares her family's story of growth after trauma with such honesty. With support from family and friends, their family was able to move forward and even thrive after tragedy.

Susan Angel Miller’s book, Permission to Thrive, takes the reader behind the scenes and inside the author’s private experiences and emotions as she deals with the unthinkable….the sudden loss of her oldest daughter at 14 years old. Her story continues to share the family’s decision of organ donation as well as an eerily similar illness as their daughter’s. Susan’s book is very well written, heartfelt, honest, raw, emotional, heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Her writing allows the reader to feel that they are in her mind, witnessing all that she is feeling, experiencing and struggling with first hand….everything that anyone would be feeling in her shoes. It allows the reader to understand how to relate to someone that is struggling with issues similar to hers. Not only does she take the reader through her experiences of trauma, she also takes us through the side of healing. She discusses how the importance of community, mindfulness and meditation, Post Traumatic Growth and ultimately sharing her story all were valuable in her healing. Susan’s book is truly inspiring and a must read for anyone that has or knows someone that has experienced trauma.

A moving, heartbreaking and inspiring story of one mom's and one family's journey from a horrible tragedy of losing a child to finding great strength and giving themselves a permission to Thrive.

As a medical student, I learned about death and dying. As a physician, I have had the opportunity to have those that I have cared for die. As a maturing adult, family members and friends have died. Susan's book has helped me better understand my own feelings of death as well as those of grieving families. Her thoughtful analysis of the feelings of she and her family brings the reader on the journey of healing. There is much to learn here.

Ms. Miller’s book is startlingly descriptive and honest as she chronicles not only her devastating loss but also how she recognizes and changes her world view so that she can thrive for herself and others. I’ve known Ms. Miller for several years and while she has shared her story with me personally it was not until I read the book that I understood the extent of her tremendous courage and tenacity and that of her family. A powerful and inspiring read and learning to start 2019.

I could not put this book down. It is a story of love, strength, and resiliency. Susan Angel Miller’s honesty and transparency in sharing her experience of the loss of her daughter, her own brain injury, and her journey of surviving loss to thriving was raw, moving, and inspiring. She offers us a path of not only thriving but of living and loving and continuing to make a positive impact in the world.

Permission to Thrive is a beautiful reminder that good can come from tragedy, if we are open to it. While few among us will thankfully suffer the same tragic loss as the Millers, none of us are protected from sorrow. This book is a must read.

Angel Miller tells an authentic, moving, and vripping story of tragedy in her life She recognizes that there is strength and positive outcomes can come forth out of true pain. I can’t temember the last time I sat down and read an entire book in one sitting. It is truly an inspiring book!

Susan Angel Miller crafted a well written account of her family experience with loss, grief and growth. This book will speak to anyone who has experienced profound loss and will enlighten everyone with the possibility of healing and growth following such trauma.

Amazing. The journey of Susan and her family will remind you how strong and powerful the human spirit is. The family took personal tragedy and turned it into a miracle for another family. Thank you for sharing Laura’s story, your story, and the importance of organ donation to the world.

A wonderful book that is sure to inspire all who read it. Susan shares her family's story of growth after trauma with such honesty. With support from family and friends, their family was able to move forward and even thrive after tragedy.

Susan shared from her heart. She inspires us, not only to not let our challenges get us down, but to use them as springboards to thrive!

Susan has shared her experiences in a raw, honest and hopeful way. Everyone could benefit from the practices of mindfulness , meditation and post traumatic growth. Brenda Cohen Gleason

Ms. Miller courageously tells a difficult and personal story in a relatable way. Highly recommended for anyone needing inspiration as they face seemingly insurmountable sorrow.

While hard to read at times, this memoir touched my heart and helped validate how I’m trying to process my own personal loss. Thank you for writing this book!

What a beautifully written book by Susan. What a strong family and wonderful role models they are to all of us. Thank you Susan for all the time and effort you put into writing this book and for sharing your family's stories to all of us.

I love how raw this book is and how the author is able to describe her feelings. She is full of so much love.

Susan Miller's honest memoir about how losing her beloved eldest daughter affected her family is a portrait of courage and resilience in the face of unimaginable pain. The Millers' selfless decision, in the first moments of shock, to donate Laura's organs gave them some rationale for this tragedy and motivated them to actively advocate for organ donation. But the road from grief to growth has been far from smooth, and Susan's openness about the stops along the way--including going back to routine, family relationships, therapy topics, her own illness ironically similar to her daughter's, and "aha" resources--foster insight and inspiration that others will find helpful. Plus, Susan's intelligence and skill combine for a beautifully written read. (less)

The saying “God will never give you more than you can handle” took on new meaning for me after listening to Susan Angel Miller’s transcendent memoir, Permission to Thrive. Susan’s resilience in dealing with her daughter’s death and choosing to find growth, and ultimately joy, in her life lessons is humbling, inspiring, and hopeful. Miller’s no-nonsense writing and narration never manipulates your heartstrings, something she could easily have intended. Yet, I found myself openly crying through several sections; not because of the heartbreak Miller was enduring, but because of her determination to use her tragedy as a bridge to something greater than herself. Her memoir has the structure of all great stories, including a false victory and final triumph. I am so grateful to have listened to this significant story of tragedy and transformation, particularly impactful because the author herself narrates her tale without flinching.

I read this book in its entirety on a Saturday afternoon. I felt as though the author, Susan Angel Miller, spent an intimate afternoon with me, sharing her emotional, remarkable, heart-warming story. I earmarked so many pages because I was so moved by certain passages. One can not possibly fully understand the depths of suffering that someone can experience but Susan allows us in to the nooks and crannies of her heart and soul as if she and the reader are confidantes. Perhaps we cannot completely understand what someone else goes through but the essence of what I believe Susan accomplished with her personal story is identifying a human common denominator. In this age of so much division amongst humans ranging from race and religion etc., Susan tapped in to that human common denominator which is the ability to heal and thrive and ultimately Live life even through the inevitable unknowns that can shake us to the core. Though I would never want anyone to suffer like she did with the most unthinkable and painful loss of a child, I think we can all find solace in the fact that she is able to allow herself to fully live this life and continue to grow, love and thrive. One of my biggest personal fears is that unknown and Susan's story reminded me that, while life offers no guarantees, there is a beauty in living each moment and it is possible to find the sparks of joy in those moments. There is a beauty in the power of friendship and community in the face of tragedy. And tragedy does not define us. And finally, this book was a reminder that there is nothing, nothing, more important than the relationships in our life.

A riveting, raw and loving book of triumph over the inconceivable loss and adversity for one woman, one family. We, the reader, enters into Ms. Miller's world of horrific pain and sorrow, and journeys with her through grief, resilience, hope and growth. This book is a remarkable testament to the power of the human spirit for survival and 'thrival'. We see the beautiful support and healing power from community and friendship; again a testament that we as humans need and thrive on connection and relationships. This book is timeless in themes and therefore can always be a source of hope - that meaning and purpose can be rebuilt out of the darkest times and situations; and despite the deepest of human pain, life can be lived well again.

This is a remarkable book revealing the power of the human spirit after suffering a parent's worst nightmare--the death of their child. It deserves every accolade. Ten years ago, Laura Miller, a 14 year old vivacious and seemingly healthy daughter, was rushed to the hospital where her parents learned for the first time that she had a malignant brain tumor. After a series of interventions, four days later a team of doctors declared her brain dead. The Miller's joined a rare society and became an organ donor family. In riveting, descriptive prose the author takes the reader on her emotional journey to chronicle the roles that her husband, two younger daughters, immediate and extended family, friends and her own community service played in her "journey from grief to growth" Above all, this book is a tribute to the memory of a beloved daughter, a talented poet and artist. The book begins with one of Laura's poems, entitled "I Am". The first line of the fourth and last stanza is "I understand that life is too short..."

I read, Permission to Thrive by Susan Angel Miller, at a crucial time in my own grieving from child loss. In fact, I couldn’t put it down. Susan’s honest writing about a parent’s greatest fear, captivated me from the beginning. I have read many books on grief, yet Susan’s book wove a message of hope throughout the pages. As a parent who lost a child recently, I feared that I would never again be able to smile or find joy. This is not a book filled with platitudes to soothe you, or suggestions to ignore your pain. Susan Angel Miller shares the beautiful and surprising outcomes she and her family experienced, in spite of suddenly losing their precious Laura. Additionally, we get to learn of the relationship that is formed between her family and that of Laura’s organ recipient. If you, or someone you know has lost someone close to them, I urge you to read this book or give it as a gift so that death does not have the last word. ~Ann Allen