Ogden native and mom of slain Sandy Hook student pens book about healing
A sign stands in the Ogden Botanical Gardens honoring the memory of Emilie Parker, a 6-year-old who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. Emilie's parents are from Ogden and her mom Alissa Parker wrote and published a book about healing after her daughter's death.
Alissa Parker holds one of her daughters as she walks toward the limousine that will take her family to Evergreen Memorial Park in Ogden on Saturday, December 22, 2012. Her 6-year-old daughter Emilie was killed last week in a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (REYNAlDO lEAl/Standard-Examiner)
Alissa and Robbie Parker with their three daughters before the Newtown, Conn., shooting that claimed the life of their firstborn, Emilie, 6. Alissa Parker wrote a book about her journey to healing through God which will be released in April 2017.
Alissa Parker struggled to forgive the man who shot and killed several adults and 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School five years ago, one of whom was her 6-year-old daughter, Emilie.
That’s when the grieving mother got a phone call from the parent of a girl who had been close friends with Emilie when the family lived in New Mexico.
The young girl was struggling with losing Emilie and was scared of going to school, but she had recently come out of her shell. While playing in her room one day, she said she could feel Emilie was with her.
“Oftentimes, we don’t talk about experiences we have with people who have passed in modern day,” Parker said. “I was experiencing these little sweet, tender miracles and feeling her presence and influence within our family, so I began to share them.”
Those moments inspired Parker to write “An Unseen Angel: A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope After Sandy Hook.”
Parker said she found solace in the blog she started after the shooting and in early 2015 decided to start compiling her writing into a book.
Shadow Mountain Publishing/Supplied
“An Unseen Angel: A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope After Sandy Hook” by Alissa Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Parker, who is originally from Ogden, is publishing the book in April 2017.
“I had people from all walks of life, all different faiths and backgrounds, writing to me and sharing their similar experiences, and it was very interesting to see how similar those experiences were to my own,” Parker said. “I realized how large the scope of God’s work really is.”
At the same time, getting back into the public spotlight is a little scary.
“It’s definitely not something that comes naturally to me,” Parker said. “I tend to be a more private person, but I felt like there was an important story to tell, one most people were not aware of when it comes to Sandy Hook.”
Macy Robinson/Supplied
Alissa Parker penned a book about the death of her 6-year-old daughter Emilie during the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The book will be released in April 2017.
Parker and her husband, Robbie, met while attending Ben Lomond High School. After starting a family, the Parkers moved to Oregon, New Mexico, and finally to Connecticut less than a year before the shooting, according to Standard-Examiner archives.
After losing Emilie, the Parkers moved to Washington, and now live on a few acres outside of Vancouver with their chickens. The family stays busy with the charities they got involved with after the shooting.
Although her family is part of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Parker said, her book is written for anyone, no matter their religious beliefs.
“We all have similar experiences of trials and faith and crisis, and it’s important to understand there’s so much more we have in common,” she said.
On the week of the 1-year anniversary of the shooting, the Parkers released ”Evil Did Not Win,” on YouTube to tell the story of Emilie’s life and the kindness of others. The Parkers also started the Emilie Parker Art Connection to raise money for the arts.
But Parker said they avoid political issues like gun control, preferring to focus on safety in schools.
“We’ve really had to be conscious of what causes are the ones we feel most passionate about and putting our energy toward that,” Parker said.
Her book release is taking the Parker family, including their two young daughters, to New York City for press events.
“An Unseen Angel: A Mother’s Story of Healing and Hope After Sandy Hook” is available for purchase at Amazon.com.
Contact education reporter Anna Burleson at aburleson@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @AnnagatorB or like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/BurlesonReports.
