"Meant To Live Forever" by Jill Amber Chafin
– Am I not allowed this grief?
I succumbed to the ugly, snotty, head-pounding crying, choking on my breath.
Jill Amber Chafin is a personal finance writer for the LendingTree, a dance and circus arts teacher, and a mother to two wild redheads in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She wrote her first story at age five and has written countless stories since then. This is Jill’s fourth story with the Personal Story Publishing Project. Her novel Shaken has been accepted for publication with Vine Leaves Press. Follow her for book release details and upcoming writing workshops @jillamberchafin .
Author’s Talk
Jill Amber Chafin
My grandparents were two of my biggest supporters of my writing. When I was 10, I typed a 40-page story for them to read during a road trip, and afterwards they told me I could do this, I could be an author. Their belief propelled me forward over the decades, despite the endless obstacles, rejections, and self-doubts.
I’m grateful I managed to land an agent for my novel while both my grandparents were still alive, and that my grandfather got to see me get a book deal.
Sadly, my grandfather unexpectedly passed away on October 21, 2023—almost one year after his love of 74 years left us. He, like my grandmother, was one of the most amazing people I have ever met. While this story is about my grandmother and the legacy she left behind, I now dedicate it to both of my grandparents: Bob and Barbara Shaw.
The memory of them will live on forever and ever.
The late Bob and Barbara Shaw then with the bride and groom
