Read the Award-Winning Memoir!
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Winner of Best Memoir (Catholic Media Association 2023)
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2nd place in Grief & Bereavement (Catholic Media Association 2023)
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Silver Medal from prestigious Nautilus Book Awards (2023)
What if your greatest sufferings were an invitation to joy?
When Elizabeth Leon received a life-limiting diagnosis for her unborn son, she expected her baby to die. She didn’t expect his death to be a sacred experience that transformed her heart and left a message of love for the world.
In Let Yourself Be Loved, Elizabeth Leon tells the story of her son, John Paul Raphael, and the fierce beauty and purpose she found in only 28 hours and 10 minutes of her son’s life. Elizabeth Leon explores the landscape of surrender, hope, and grief and shares the freedom that she discovered in consenting to a path she did not choose.
On the surface, it may seem like an ordinary story. Babies are born every day. Some of them die. But, the Lord specializes in using the ordinary to do extraordinary work. John Paul Raphael left sacred truths through his short and shining life.
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Let Yourself Be Loved is a story of freedom for every person who has ever walked through uncertainty or loss. Elizabeth Leon writes with authenticity and humanity as she prepares for the death of her baby then navigates the wasteland of grief. She invites us to open ourselves to the lessons that come from life and death.