In July of 2007, I had the incredible honor of sharing the stage with Elizabeth Edwards. It was the opening ceremony of The Compassionate Friends National Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The original plan was for me to speak briefly and play a couple of songs prior to her speaking, but at the last minute, for security reasons, they decided to flip-flop the order and have her speak and then move to my portion of the program.
As I sat on the front row listening to Elizabeth tell her story of losing her oldest son Wade, I was struck by two very distinct qualities she possessed. One is the sheer brilliance of her mind and its ability to take such deep thoughts about grief, life, and our journey and turn them into nuggets of honesty that all can relate to.
The second quality I admired about Elizabeth was her compassion toward others who share in her pain. Centering Corporation who handles the sale of books and CD's at big events like this knew that Elizabeth's book would sell like hotcakes and so many would want to meet her and get them signed. They also knew I would sell a lot of CD's, so they split her and I up after the event...placing me in the book store and Elizabeth in her own room.
As I sat for several hours signing CD's and meeting so many bereaved parents, grandparents, and siblings, I would hear stories of how Elizabeth was only supposed to stay for 2 hours, but was still in her room refusing
to leave until she had met everyone in her line. Many of my customers, had her signed book in their hand and their own story of how warm and friendly she was to them...she touched many lives that day with her
kindness and generosity.
We would not become aware until months later that while Elizabeth graced us with her appearance that day in Oklahoma City, she had only recently been made aware of the infidelity of her husband, presidential candidate
John Edwards. It was no surprise to any of us who have met her that she would handle herself with such dignity and grace throughout that scandal, just like she did in her battle with cancer....because we got to witness
up close and personal what an incredible woman Elizabeth Edwards was.
The grief world mourns so deeply the loss of this amazing woman because she touched our hearts with her story, inspired us with her courage, and taught many of us a great lesson on how to survive the most difficult of situations. A great voice was silenced, but it will continue to live on in her work, and through the thousands of lives she touched as Wade's Mom.
Rest in Peace Elizabeth Edwards, thanks for touching my life...it was my distinct honor to have met you and shared a beautiful moment in time with you.
Alan Pedersen
Thank you for sharing that…what an incredible woman.