The Wedding Gift
Finding Joy in the Midst of Death
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Not in a million years would I have thought that the events retold in this book would ever happen to me. Life is about great surprises and overwhelming challenges and our ability to stumble through them, learn, and move on. Join me as I share a brief yet transformational time in my life. It is the week before my wedding, and my mother is dying of cancer. Exhaustion and worry filled my days. You may discover that you connect with me in some way, or you may learn how to adapt and chart a new course when your life has been turned upside down for whatever reason. As I questioned death and dying, and its purpose, it led me on a journey of really understanding pure joy and commitment. This book is a mother-daughter memoir, a story of love, relationship, and compassion that allows you to peek into my mother’s simple yet extraordinary life. I have been forever changed by her living, her dying, and her continued presence after her death. Enjoy this tale of heartbreak and rebirth.
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About the Book
The Wedding Gift is the next Brian’s Song. Prepare to cry, smile, care, and relate. Margaret Hofmann does a wonderful job of articulating and sharing what it was like to balance the extreme emotions of heartbreak and sadness with elation and joy as she watched her mother struggle with cancer and face death just days before Margaret’s wedding. Don’t miss this touching mother-daughter love story. You will be inspired as Margaret was by the heroic actions of her mother, which may embolden you to look at life’s complexities differently and rearrange your priorities. Don’t be surprised if you can’t put this book down. It is an incredible wedding story, a wonderful memoir, and yet a unique kind of self-help book all delicately woven into one beautiful piece of work.
About the Author
Margaret Hofmann is a mom, fitness professional, and small-business owner who resides in Pataskala, Ohio, with her husband, Todd, and daughter. Margaret and Todd are Cincinnati natives. Margaret has spent her entire career in athletics, health, and fitness. Interests she developed after receiving a full scholarship to play Division I volleyball and softball at the college level. Margaret is the owner of a personal training and consulting business in Columbus, Ohio, with over 30 years of experience in the industry. She specializes in training the older adult population, those over the age of 50. Her career focus is strong in education, teaching, and athletic coaching, having worked at three universities in the Midwest. While immersed in these Christian academic settings of higher learning, her interest in writing developed. She holds both a Master of Education degree in Health and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Health, Movement Education, and Recreation. The Wedding Gift was originally published in 2012. This expanded, second edition includes two new chapters, as well as additional poems and pictures. Margaret is passionate about keeping this book in circulation to honor her mother’s mission work and spirit of volunteerism. Margaret’s goal is to continue building the Pauline Hofmann Education Fund (PH Education Fund), established in 2002 by Fr. Paulino Mondo, a Comboni mission priest serving in Africa. The Comboni mission center and North American headquarters are located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they manage the fund. The PH Education Fund supports a Comboni mission school in an impoverished area of Nairobi, Kenya. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be allocated to the fund and used to uplift and educate children in Africa. To learn more about the Comboni Missionaries, visit www.combonimissionaries.org. If you would like to donate to the fund, hit the Donate button on their home page, then click Donate Now. In the Leave a Comment section of the form, state that your donation goes to the PH Education Fund. To contact Margaret, use e-mail via her LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/in/aic1. To view a short clip of Margaret’s wedding, visit her YouTube page: /@AgersInCondition1.