Margaret Marshall Rhyne

     Although apparently normal at birth, Alexis never grew to be larger than a six-year old.  She could never sit, stand, walk, talk or feed herself.  She never played with a toy or knew she had a birthday.  Though doctors guessed her IQ to be less than fifty, she never had a diagnosis.  An exception in every way, Alexis lived for twenty-nine years with her mother, Margaret.      

     When Alexis dies mysteriously on a cold, January morning, Margaret is expected to accept Alexis' death and her own complicated life without answers. Instead, she begins to search for a perspective to give her the peace to accept the loss of the child who was part of her soul and the courage to believe in tomorrow.

      Remembering Alexis, Finding Perspective in Love and Loss is a record of that search.  It recounts a life of naive expectation and profound disillusionment, of faith lost and regained, and of love recognized and treasured.  Margaret asks the questions that few people have the courage to ask.  In the honesty of her thoughts and her willingness to look beyond standards and stereotypes, Margaret shows a depth of vision and strength of character that only trials can create.

     Remembering Alexis, Finding Perspective in Love and Loss is a lovely story about a woman who takes responsibility for her life and for her daughter's life and along the way finds unconditional love and gentle grace.  It celebrates the resiliency of the human spirit and the sacredness of each individual's journey.  It is a book for all of us who are not living the life we thought we would and want to know that we can accept life without all of the answers.    

July 25 is Alexis' Birthday.

She would have been 35 this year.  

Plant a Flower in Memory of a Child.