Love Never Ends

12 Lessons I Learned About Life After Becoming a Widow
Widowed at 40 and left to raise her four-year-old twin sons alone, Franka was thrust into confronting an unexpected and traumatic reality.  With heart, hope, and a focus on healing, she shares, through 12 lessons how she successfully navigated the highs and lows of her grief journey to raise her sons as a single mother.

With heartfelt emotion and a unique ability to capture the intricacies of life’s moments, Franka hopes her insights about the grief journey will transcend cultures and generations, resonating deeply with anyone struggling to deal with the loss of a spouse or love partner. Her book promises to be a journey filled with empathy, self-discovery, and the power of the human spirit, inviting us all to explore the depths of our shared humanity following the loss of someone we deeply love, with the hopeful reminder that love never dies.

Words from Franka
“I know it’s not a fun topic – grief and it’s private. It’s painful to even think about loss or losing someone but it’s important that we normalize support for those grieving instead of the “get over it already” mentality that we have here in America.

We are productivity-obsessed and the generalized 3 days of mourning is NOT nearly enough for someone to grieve someone they dearly loved let alone show up to work and deal with workplace stressors. Putting together a funeral can take 7-10 days at a minimum.

I get that you’re strong.  I get that loss is a part of life.  But can we stop to acknowledge that not everyone moves through it at light speed?  I hope through my book you will feel encouraged to strike up conversations about..
• How we view the grief journey
• How we can support those grieving.
• How we can make resources available to everyone and not just the privileged. (Access to mental health care can be expensive)

The remnants of grief can stay with us longer than most expect, we see this with our children who have lost parents during the pandemic. This tends to be a very lonely journey, but I want you to know, you’re not alone and there are people who want to help you as you heal.” 

Franka Speaks from the Heart
“Franka and I have been friends since 1998, from our Compaq days. I recruited her from UX to the Commercial Portable Division Training team and we worked together at a couple other companies as well.  She is funny, creative, and a genuine good person.

Raphy and Franka attended parties at our home and we enjoyed a good friendship. But, it was a very sad day when Raphy died.  I grieved at his funeral and for Franka. Time has passed but Franka has always stayed the course.  She has done a great job keeping her life and career on track while doing a phenomenal job raising their twin sons into young adulthood. 

I am so proud of Franka for writing her book. She shares good loving advice with others who have endured loss. Her experience moving through grief and getting her life on-track is universal truth that can apply to all of us.”
– Valerie K Miller, March 3, 2024