Cherith Baldry
When
I heard about the death of Emmy and her parents in the tornado,
I was shocked and saddened - all the more so as I learnt more
about Emmy and what a special person she was. I feel deeply
honored to be writing the book in which Brightspirit will
appear; I hope and pray that Vicky and I can do her justice, and
that our words will be a comfort to those who are mourning for
her and her parents.
I'm really thankful for the work that Lynn and others have done to make something positive come out of this tragic event, and I was so glad to learn that the Erin Hunter team could help by contributing signed copies and other items to the fund for the tornado survivors. It seems even better to me if we could widen the scope of this fund to include causes that Emmy herself would have liked to support. It is a wonderful memorial to her and a way to ensure that her spirit lives on.
My thoughts and prayers are with Emmy, her family and friends.
Kate Cary
The
story of Emmy has touched me. I hold my son tighter now, and
treasure more deeply the time I spend with him. It is a joy to
be able to help Emmy's family and community. Of all the words
and pictures they have shared with us, my favorite is a photo of
Emmy's friend, Harley, smiling as she holds Emmy's cat, Shasta,
who survived the tragedy. It tells me that life goes on and
happiness returns so long as we hold the memories of those we
love in our hearts.
These are two of Kate Cary's cats:
Victoria Holmes
I've
done several press and TV interviews recently about creating a
permanent memorial to Emmy Grace Cherry, and in each one I've
been asked, Why would you do something like this? My answer is
always the same: Why would I not? Emmy was a beautiful,
generous, loving little girl who should not be snuffed out from
our lives like a candle. Her light is the brightest of lights,
and it deserves to shine on for a long, long time. It is a great
and humbling honour to be allowed to share the grief of her
family and her community, and to be able to help raise funds for
people that Emmy would have wanted to help herself.
