Celebrating Their Lives

Creating a Lasting Legacy

Celebrating Their Lives presents 14 uplifting and inspirational profiles of families who sought meaningful ways to honor the loss of their loved ones by showing tremendous acts of kindness and compassion for others. As they faced the grieving process, these families worked through their pain by creating scholarship funds, supporting medical research and organizing community education programs with a goal of saving lives. Here they share their personal insights to provide hope and inspiration for others struggling with the tragic death of a loved one. By creating meaningful legacies, these families found comfort in their healing journeys and were given a lifelong opportunity to share the values and beliefs of those who passed away. Each profile is designed to help spur conversations about this topic and provide valuable resource information that will allow you to create your own legacy initiatives.  

"Norah Machia's real-life stories of loss brim with humanity, while offering multiple paths for turning those losses into positive legacies." - Margot C. Jacoby, bereaved mother, college professor and author of Love Lives - Becoming Martha O'Neill

 "Celebrating Their Lives is a must read for any family looking to memorialize the loss of a loved one in a way that helps make the world a better place." - Joseph L. Rich, retired television news anchor and founder of the Disabled Persons Action Organization.

"There will be times when we need help and there will be times when we need to be the helper. In the way only she could, Norah connects us with examples of those who have found ways to redirect loss in profound ways." - from the Foreword by Rande S. Richardson, Executive Director, Northern New York Community Foundation