Dear Friends and Family,

This Week’s Feature: “A ‘Chance’ Encounter”

Several weeks prior to my book launch, I decided to reach out to a former UPS co-worker and friend, April Nelson.  April is a whiz when it comes to communications, and I wanted to glean as much knowledge from her as possible.   

April was a news reporter with CBS 46 in Atlanta prior to transitioning to the UPS Corporate Communications department, where we met.  Back when April was a news reporter, she did a story on mid-wives.  About a week after I met with April, one of the subjects of her mid-wife story reached out to her.  Her name is Alison Butler Robinson.  Alison informed April that she recently wrote a faith-based book, surrounding a series of losses within her family;  most notably, the loss of her 14-year-old daughter and husband in a plane crash that occurred in Texas in 2011. 

Alison included April in her book, titled “The Crash” because Alison’s daughter received news coverage when she was born (due to April’s mid-wife story) and when she passed away, since the plane crash was covered by the major new stations. 

April was astonished both because she was not aware of Alison’s losses and because she could not ignore the parallels between Alison’s story and mine.  We both contacted April “out of the blue” about a week apart.  She later also realized that Alison’s daughter and mine both have the same first and middle names, although spelled a bit differently.  Alison’s daughter is named “Brooke Maree” and my daughter is named “Brooke Marie”. 

Alison was planning to accompany April to my book launch, but could not attend due to illness.  Recently, April facilitated a Zoom Meeting so we could meet virtually.  It was wonderful to meet Alison and finally discuss our similar experiences. 

April mentioned to both of us that many unusual things have been happening in her life since she re-connected with both of us.  She believes she is being prompted by God to assist us both as we work diligently to help as many individuals as possible through our similar stories and books.  We are all praying for God’s guidance regarding the appropriate next steps.  

I want to thank April for her friendship, her prayers and a wonderful story she shared on LinkedIn regarding my book and book launch event.  Finally, I want to thank her for allowing God to leverage her talents and passion to further His kingdom.