‘The Journey Within’: Coralie Robertson pens book about overcoming grief in the wake of loss

Although she interviewed 50 people while doing research for her book, it was Coralie Robertson's own journey that ultimately led her to pen the novel, "The Journey Within." The subject of her book -- dealing with loss -- became personal to her after the death of her husband of 54 years.

After so many years of living in a happy marriage, Robertson considered the prospect of a new relationship.

"I met a gentleman that had a pivotal role in the book," Robertson says. He also had lost his spouse, to whom he had been married for many years. The two were discussing relationships. The possibility of getting right into another romantic relationship led to a call to John Hudak, director of the Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau.

"Why would you want someone else to do what you are not willing to do?" he asked her, referring to grief work necessary to come to grips with losing her husband.

Robertson, 76, realized the importance of confronting her own loss.

Coralie Robertson's book, "The Journey Within: Living After Loss," sits on a table at the author's home March 27.BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

"I decided I wanted to go through this journey myself before I got into another relationship," she says.

Realizing many people must be grappling with the same issue, she set out talk to others about it. Robertson says she had no interviewing experience and never intended to write a book. That didn't stop her from jumping in and asking people she encountered around the area about the subject of loss. To protect the privacy of those she interviewed, their real names are not used in the book.

Robertson got a lot of information from local people, but she wanted to hear from people in other parts of the country.

"After reviewing the interviewing material, I realized I needed to branch out geographically," she says.

Her sister, Grace Klein, lives in Rochester, New York, so she started there. As it happens, Klein is an expert on loss and has written several books on the topic. Robertson hopped on a plane and started interviewing people in New York who had suffered a loss, and a couple of experts as well. Her sister arranged for her to interview a prominent mental- health professional in the area.

Coralie Robertson, author of The Journey Within: Living After Loss , poses for a photo on March 27, 2017 in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews)

Even after gathering information from people in New York, she still felt she needed more, so she headed to Austin, Texas, to visit her brother. She conducted interviews there as well.

"There's a lot of loss out there," she says of the similarities among people she interviewed.

Commonalities such as learning to live alone were shared among people who had suffered a loss through divorce or death. Many older people struggle with loneliness, and willingness to talk to others and form friendships is one of the keys to healing, a main theme of the book.

"The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life," Robertson says.

"The Journey Within" sheds light on the possibilities for a new life because of the resilience of the human spirit, which ultimately leads to a transformation.

There's another lesson in the book, one Robertson also made through self-discovery.

"It's never too late to do something new," she says.

The book, two and a half years in the making, was released in January. It's available locally at The Book Rack and on Amazon for $11.99.