It’s an Ill Wind, Indeed: A Memoir

This is the story of one woman's climb out of the abyss after the sudden death and loss of her husband and young son through a fire in their home. - a story of the survival, coping, and eventual healing of the whole family. Although death ends a life, it never ends a relationship. A hopeful exploration of grief from the vantage point of a widow and her teen-aged children, who lost not only a father and brother, but a mother as they had always known her. Sadness keeping company with courage and hopefulness.

Callaway until the age of almost forty identified herself as wife, mother of five children, and occasional speechwriter, administrative assistant, or medical and legal transcriptionist, as the need arose. Through an arduous journey after the death of her husband and 12 year old son, she redefined herself as entrepreneur, volunteer, tutor and mother of four surviving teenagers., searching for a life after such a tragic accident. As the owner operator of first a gift-jewelry store and then two women’s boutiques, she became interested in how fashion, color, and personality intersect. Out of that came her first book, The Color Connection: From a Retailer’s Perspective. She now writes personal essays, mostly on political or contemporary issues. Now in her early 80’s, her family has grown to include eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. She lives in California with her husband, Ed. Callaway.