Talk to Me by Allison DuBois Page B

detail of the reading—I’ll let Joni tell you about it—there were moments of humour and sadness, love and loss.
    I could see how much Joni and Ron loved their daughter, who had been diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 33 and tragically died within three months. I could feel how Kelly loved her parents and noticed how easily she came through due to her strong love and will. It didn’t escape me that she was roughly the same age as my friend Domini, who had died of melanoma at 31, less than a year after being diagnosed.
    Something that happens quite frequently in readings is that the person coming to see me will have a list of questions they want to ask. But before they can even ask them, their loved one will pass on a message that answers the question. This happened with Kelly and, as I explained to Joni and Ron, it occurs because the deceased knew what was on your mind prior to the reading.
    This reading took place at my house, something I never normally do, but on this occasion the space I would usually book for the in-person readings wasn’t available because of the Video Music Awards.
    After the reading, I realised Joni and Ron were looking directly at my family portrait that hangs above my fireplace. Eye-to-eye with my little girls’ faces—how difficult that must have been. Existing after you lose a child places you in an impossible spiral: you love to observe other people’s mirror images of your baby, all around you, yet these children serve as reminders of the one whom you can no longer touch.
    The whole Video Music Awards fiasco ended up being for a reason. Firstly, it brought this couple into my house, so Kelly managed to make it as personal as a reading can possibly get, as I was surrounded by pictures of my own little girls and family members. Secondly, Kelly worked for Sony Music, so music in essence is what she was and also what was responsible for bringing them to my house. I’m glad about that, and the Video Music Awards seemed symbolic of Kelly to me.
    In the reading, Kelly kept talking about music being very important to her. Clearly, this is quite true. I also thought it was interesting that Joni told me ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ was her and Kelly’s song, because this is a song that’s meaningful to Domini and me. Beaches was a movie that Domini and I saw together, and I wrote about how special that movie and song are to us in my book Don’t Kiss Them Good-Bye . Coincidence? I think not.
    So I felt as if Joni and Ron sharing their daughter with me that day brought something special to me, and is a reminder to us all to never assume we’ll grow old. Always tell your kids how much you love them.
    Kelly kept repeating in the reading, ‘I always knew I was loved; I always felt special.’
    Joni and Ron strengthened Kelly’s spirit every time they made her feel loved and protected in life. They’re the reason she is strong enough to stay connected.
    RON AND JONI’S STORY
    Our names are Ron and Joni Hewitt, and our daughter Kelly was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma on 11 May 2009. Three short months later, on August 10, our beautiful daughter was gone. She died one week after her 34th birthday, which was on August 3.
    In July 2010, I was still grieving for Kelly and crying every day. I was devastated by her loss. We had been best friends and more like sisters than mother and daughter. If we weren’t together, we spoke on the phone daily—several times. I just couldn’t accept that she was gone. I had read Allison’s book Don’t Kiss Them Good-Bye , and then I read her book We Are Their Heaven . As soon as I finished the second book, I went online to her website. I saw that she was going to be in our area for a seminar, and I purchased tickets. I also registered on her website and listed my private phone number. This is something that I never usually do, but as I was entering it, something (or someone) just told