After more than 40 titles, a Rochester woman has written her last book

Apr. 1—ROCHESTER — Harriet Hodgson won't grieve the end of her writing career.

The Rochester author and Charter House resident said it's time to stop writing books — she's written 46 books ranging from fun books for kids to serious looks at topics such as raising your own grandkids and dealing with grief. In fact, that last topic — grief and healing — has been the subject of 11 of her books.

"My publisher said these last three," she said, naming the titles "Winning," "Grief Doodling" and "Grief in Your Words" — all books dealing with grief, "are my best."

Hodgson said she got into writing about grief after living through it when four family members died within a few months of one another.

In 2007, her elder daughter died due to injuries sustained in a car crash.

"The lead surgeon came out and said, 'We fix one thing and something else fails,'" Hodgson recalled. "So and he said, 'The other thing now was we have to tell you, your daughter's brain dead.' So, my husband and I made that god-awful decision, and we pull her off life support."

That, she said, was on Friday. On Sunday, her father-in-law died. And while her father-in-law was 98, the former Mayo Clinic physician was an important part of her and her husband's life.

"My daughter and my father-in-law died the same weekend and their pictures were on the obit page of the Post Bulletin," Hodgson said. "And I didn't want to look at the pictures."

A week after her daughter died, Hodgson sat down at the computer and started writing about her grief.

"I mean, I literally poured out my soul. And that was the beginning," she said.

A few weeks later, her brother died of cancer. Several months after that, her daughter's husband — the surviving parent of teenage twins — died in a car crash just as his wife, Hodgson's daughter, had died.

Hodgson and her husband, Corrin, then raised those twin grandchildren, both age 15 at the time.

Which, of course, led to another book, "So You're Raising Your Grandkids!"

In fact, as Hodgson found new experiences in her life, she often found a way to turn that experience into a book.

As a teacher, she turned fun activities and art projects into "I Made It Myself: Creative Toys Kids Can Make from Stuff Around the House." More than two decades spent as a caregiver to members of her family spawned a series of books on how to survive and thrive in what can be a physicially and emotionally exhausting calling.

When Corrin needed caregiving, the home cook changed many old family recipes to accommodate his dietary needs, so Hodgson wrote a cookbook for caregivers.

A walk in the snow with Corrin led to a poem that morphed into a children's book titled "First Steps, First Snow." Once the poem was written — and published the "American Poetry Anthology" — Hodgson sought out an illustrator, and worked with them to create the art for the book.

All those books take energy, she said.

"As a nonfiction author, everything I write is well researched," Hodgson said. "So even the book 'Grief Doodling,' which has won several awards, even that has a list of resources in the back, I give credit when credit is due."

But at 88, Hodgson said it's time to stop writing books.

"So basically, it's the last book, because I thought I'm going to take the best care of my health," Hodgson said. "Getting a book out, you know, takes a year, and I'm not willing to wait that long. And I want to pursue some other things."

Not that she's just finished this book and will let it sail off into the publishing sunset. Hodgson said she plans to be involved in the marketing of the book, and — with a master's degree in art education — she had definite opinions and input on the cover design.

She said the book is all about using writing as a way to express, deal with and heal from grief. Each chapter has writing prompts and space for readers to jot down their thoughts.

Hodgson said finding a creative outlet can be a key element to healing during grief. Her book, "Grief Doodling" encourages people to use doodle art as an outlet to express their emotions. She talked about how doodling each morning helped rejuvinate her while she was taking care of her husband when he was sick.

And while she won't be writing books anymore, Hodgson said she plans to keep up with her artistic endeavors. That includes teaching a doodle art class at 125 Live, she'll continue to head up the Arts and Decorations Committee at Charter House, and she'll write for the Charter House newsletter.

"All of the arts are an expression of feelings, right?" Hodgson asked, rhetorically. "I gave a workshop here at Chart House about grief doodling, and one person, when she walked out, said, 'This has been great. It's much better than throwing eggs at the wall.' I thought, now there's a line because I wouldn't throw eggs at the wall. I wouldn't want to clean it up."

"Grief in Your Words: How Writing Helps You Heal" is available on

Amazon

or online through

Barnes & Noble

.

For a more complete listing of Hodgson's work, see her

Amazon author page

.