A Book About Rachel

Today I started working on my book, a book about my departed and beloved sister, Rachel Marie (Allen) Amstutz. I do not know how long it will take to finish, only that it will be finished one day.

For whom am I writing this book? Me. I'm writing this because *I* want to have it; it will have special meaning to me. But I recognize others may want to read it too. I bet that my family will want a copy of it, and it would probably be good for Rachel's children to read someday, too. Rachel's closest friends from childhood and church, those to whom she reached out, and even some who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in the wake of her death may also be interested in reading it. I very much hope to get this published for those who would share my joy in having and reading it.

This purpose of the book will be (at least) twofold.
1) God's Preparations. As time went by, facts came to light that revealed the many, many ways in which God was actively preparing the world for the day he would call Rachel heavenward; I want to document and discuss these.
2) People's responses. I know that many people penned journals, poems, and songs in dedication to, honor of, or memory of Rachel. I want to collect these. As word got out that she had moved on to her glory, letters of encouragement poured in from all around the world - literally. Some were sent to me, some to my parents, still more to my brother by birth, and of course, to Rachel's bereaved husband, my brother by choice, Scott. I want to collect as many of these as I can, too.

So now it comes to this: I need your help!

From whom I need help:
Family, friends, or acquaintances with Rachel, Scott, myself, or my family. (Basically, anybody who knows us!)

What I want:
I need more content, and you guys have it all!
If you did anything like write a letter, journal, song or poem, jotted notes on a Post-It, made a "sticky" on your iPhone, ANYTHING AT ALL in response to Rachel's death and the days and events surrounding it, please send it to me!
If you made a decision about your future (children? salvation? outreach?), tell me about it!
Rachel touched so many lives, and I want to try to capture as much of that as possible. I think you will actually be surprised when you learn just how much Rachel affected others, not just you.

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UPDATE: This info was added after this entry was originally posted.
To reiterate, I'm primarily doing this for myself. I personally am interested in seeing this stuff if you have it. If you feel comfortable sharing it with me but don't want it published publicly, that is perfectly OK! I've already had one person send me something with the request it not be shared outside the family, and I'll honor any such request. -Thanks.
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Timeframe:
As soon as you can get it to me.
I have a few things already to get me started, so I'm not sitting around waiting on things to get going. But I'd like to get your input as quickly as I can, while it is all still pretty fresh in your mind. Now, if you don't have something prepared can you can send me, take your time. Write it up. This will be an ongoing endeavor, so don't rush yourself.

Where to send it:
If you have electronic media to contribute, please send it via email to MySisterRachel+contribution@gmail.com. If you have something that cannot be sent via email, alert me via email so I can hook you up with a mailing address.


Book orders?
Like I said, I expect that there will be other people besides me who will want a copy of the finished book. If you are one such person, please send an email to MySisterRachel+bookorder@gmail.com, and I will let you know when the time approaches.


General contact information.
If you have anything to say or ask about related to this project, you can just use this email address: MySisterRachel@gmail.com (without the +-tags).