Lily Hates Goodbyes

By Jerilyn Marler

We are a nation that is proud of the soldiers serving in the military, fighting to protect our freedoms.  We are grateful for the sacrifices of these brave men and women, and we often seek ways to honor them as we rightfully should.  However, some of our nation’s youngest citizens also sacrifice greatly.  You see, they don’t see soldiers going off to war…they see Mommy and Daddy leaving again.

Through experiences with her own granddaughter, author Jerilyn Marler has seen first hand the pain, confusion and mixed emotions our soldiers’ children experience while their parents are deployed.

In Lily Hates Goodbyes, the reader meets a young girl struggling with her emotions while her father is gone for “a billion days.”  With each emotion she experiences, she is reassured that is okay to feel that way and is offered some creative outlets for her anger and for her sadness.

Lily Hates Goodbyes is a remarkably simple, yet beautiful book in both message and illustration.  Children are drawn to the book and enjoy reading about a little girl who, like them, sometimes feels sad and sometimes feels angry and sometimes blows kisses to the moon.  The military’s Family Readiness Groups should stock up on copies of Lily Hates Goodbyes as it is a must-have for any child facing a parent’s deployment.

This review was submitted by Kristin Pace. Kristin is a wife, mom and the founder of The Book-Trotter.  She wrote her first review over 20 years ago and has been reading and loving books ever since.

 Click to purchase Lily Hates Goodbyes