Leavenworth, KS Author Explores Parental Loss and Life Afterward

Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. announces "Becoming an Orphan," a personal memoir by Leavenworth author Richard Baskas, Ed.D., exploring the loss of his mother and the difficult emotional and practical transition that followed.

The book begins with an ordinary day that abruptly changes when Baskas's ninety-year-old mother suffers a fall at home and breaks her hip. Her hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and subsequent medical complications confront Baskas with decisions concerning her care and future.

"Becoming an Orphan" follows the author through these experiences and into the responsibilities that emerge after the death of a parent. Baskas recounts making funeral and burial arrangements, handling documents and bills, sorting through his mother's possessions, preserving family memories, and adjusting to a home and life that have fundamentally changed.

The memoir also reflects on his mother's history, including her service in the Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), as well as the author's efforts to honor her memory through a memorial, burial preparations, and a Celebration of Life.

Throughout the book, Baskas examines grief alongside the practical demands that can accompany loss. His account considers family relationships, responsibility, memory, loneliness, independence, and the challenge of deciding what to do with one's own life after a parent is gone.

The final portion of "Becoming an Orphan" turns toward the author's changing life as he continues downsizing his home, managing work responsibilities, returning to school in a different program, and considering ways to improve his life on his own.

"Becoming an Orphan" is a 40-page paperback with a retail price of $18.00 (eBook $13.00). The ISBN is 979-8-90297-199-3. Published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For members of the press, to request a review copy or author interview, please visit https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/pages/media-requests or to buy the book, visit our online bookstore at https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com/products/becoming-an-orphan . For more information on publishing services, please visit https://www.dorrancepublishing.com/