Comments on: right after we got engaged

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:22:05 +0000

I just finished your book and absolutely loved it. When a friend noticed I was reading it, she told me her friend was close with Liz in college and that she was so much fun and incredibly smart. Apparently her senior thesis is still being talked about over at Scripps, it was so good. She looks so happy here. Despite the tragedy, I’m glad you have such happy memories to sustain you and your daughter. Based on the flickr row up above, she looks just like your wife! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a daughter look more like her mother. They would’ve won some serious look alike contests.

By: Susan McQuillen

Susan McQuillen — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:23:26 +0000

Dear Matt,
I just finished reading your book this morning (used 1/2 box of tissues)! What amazing strength you have! I am so sorry for the loss of your wife…what a beautiful woman and what a beautiful love! Your daughter is a beautiful reminder of your wife…I was taken back by some of your pictures of Maddy, and how they look sooo much like some of the ones of Liz, in the front of your book!
You are very fortunate to have such a close net of support…I have a friend who lost her son in a tragic car accident 6 years ago and everyone close to her, thinks that she should “be over it!”
Your website is wonderful…it’s unfortunate, that you had to lose so much, to give so much! Peace and grace to you and your beautiful little girl…Your wife would be very proud of you!!

By: Devin Chase

Devin Chase — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 02:36:13 +0000

Dear Matt,
I am in the process of reading your book, even though I am in college and still very young and haven’t dealt with the great challenges that life has given you, I am very sympathetic for you and Maddy. Just four years ago my family and I experienced a really bad bump in the road, My parents got divorced…. to summarize it up, It was really bad and basically I had one thing go wrong after another. Everyone would tell me that it would get better… but sure enough things only got worse and worse. Time has made the situation better, and somewhat easier to cope with because in a way my sister and I lost our mom because she left us, and broke up our family. But things are better now, for the best they can be. And I’m glad to see that just how I coped with my situation, you were able to stay strong through it for Maddy. That makes me think of my Dad because he does everything for us, and he would be nothing if he lost us he told us. And now reading your book, I understand what he means now. I am so glad I got your book & found this blog, even though it has been a little late, but it touched my heart so much! I am so glad that you are living a happy life now with Maddy and even though I’m almost finished with the book… this is like cheating, and now I know that the ending is (a real) happy ending!
Thanks for sharing your story,
Love Devin

By: Kelly Prziborowski

Kelly Prziborowski — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:48:22 +0000

Dear Matt,
Looking at your blog is helping me to cope with issues that I have going on right now, so thank you so much for sharing so much of yourself. My sister passed away at the age of 25 on April 27 due to a pulmonary embolism. Even though it’s been more than a month I still feel like Daniele is just at her boyfriend’s house and she’ll come walking through the door at any minute with her gorgeous smile on her face and she’ll say something utterly ridiculous and fabulous all at the same time. As awful as my sister’s death was it has helped me to relize why some things happened at the beginning of this year. She finally moved back home to Minnesota from Iowa and said that she “belonged here.” She had just starting dating a wonderful man who gave her everything she had asked of past boyfriend but never received, unconditional love and partnership, and most striking of all, my now husband but then fiance was sent home from basic training and we had a small quick wedding for our own purposes. I was married less than a month before Daniele passed but I know that had she not been there as my maid of honor, I wouldn’t have been able to get married for a very long time. She was my rock and my best friend and I feel so guilty about her death. I can only pray that with time I’ll be able to heal as much as you seem to have. Once again, thank you for your blog and for sharing your story.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 04:57:10 +0000

Hi bud,
just thought I would share something with you and I don’t know why. I’m getting divorced and I did a search on single Dad’s blogs and saw your site. I have two kids was married for 13 years and so I thought maybe I would do a little research on the internet to maybe get some kindof ideas or moral support for the next phase (single dad phase) of my life. I’m sorry for you loss. The first thing is that when I realized finally that my marriage was over I grieved big time and it was hours of uncontrollable and gut wrenching crying and moaning, and feeling like I wanted to puke. It was also overwhelming to me, this sense of loss, like somebody had died, and that was just a few weeks ago. She’s moving out next week. I know it’s hard and not easy for me, but of course, it is worse for you because there is just you and Maddy, but for me, maybe worse because I can see what could have been and kept faith that one day it would be, but now I have the sudden realization that I didn’t do the right things and in the end when I was trying to hang onto things, it took a while for me to realize that emotionally she had gone some time ago and it was too late to fix it – she was committed whole heartedly to moving on. Life is hard, but there is still hope for you and Maddy. You look like a good person so I hope you meet someone, not to replace what you had, but Liz (that is my wife’s name too) would want you to be paired up with another warm and affectionate woman that cares for you. She’s gone, I can tell, but she’s waiting for you up there, but here and now, she understands I’m sure and would want that for you. My wife is here now talking on the phone but emotionally she is gone, and as for our connection, it will never be again what you and your Liz will obviously have again in Heaven for Eternity. Be happy.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Sat, 22 May 2010 18:24:05 +0000

I know the meaning of grief. I lost my daughter at age of 14. People aren’t used to grief. Society doesn’t like to face it. For them, we are many times heroes. But we aren’t. We are people who HAVE TO survive to a terrible loss or die. As we can’t die, we survive. That’s what we are, survivors. Each day and each hour. Every morning I wake up and think:”God, help me to go through the day.” Now I’m in peace with Him. But I asked Him many times why my beautiful 14 year old green eyed teen had passed away. She simply closed her eyes and she never opened them again. Her heart stopped beating. She had a boyfiend who was in love with her, lots of friends, was a lovely girl. And so…I was robbed from my treasure, I thought. Now, people say she is an angel. She really looked like an angel, but it was too early to my angel to fly. She was my only one.
I can’t find a reason to live, but I live. Maybe to not hurt my mom, my brother and my nephew who love me. I think about them every day to not kill myself. As I think you found in your sweetie a reason to keep alive. That’s why we say we aren’t heroes, we are human beings, tragedy knocked our doors, and we are surviving. God bless you two.

By: Freesia

Freesia — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:13:38 +0000

Wow! I hope someday I can find a love like this… You two were very lucky to find it.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:47:03 +0000

It is amazing how much of Liz and you are in Maddy!!!

By: Silindile Ntuli

Silindile Ntuli — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:31:10 +0000

You two look so happy and so much in love you can tell something big just happened…. Your love is inspiring and it was so powerful and timeless.

By: Sarah in MN

Sarah in MN — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:24:43 +0000

this might be the only time i’ve seen you smile in a pic …how fitting