Letters for Lucia: 8 Principles for Navigating Adversity

by David Brown Jr.

A new husband and father, David, finds himself dealing with the largest tragedy of his life, the international abduction of his 11-month old daughter. Rather than being governed by resentment and anger, he begins to see life from a lens of compassion and forgiveness. Reflecting on the experiences of the separation from his daughter, David recognizes that he is in the middle of a spiritual awakening, which birthed 8 principles that allowed him to find peace. Not knowing if he will ever see his daughter again, David writes letters to his daughter sharing the principles, hoping that she practices them as she grows up. He explains to readers how the principles can be applied so they too can find peace in their lives. Letters for Lucia is a story of love, forgiveness, and healing. If you are currently dealing with a form of adversity in your life, or are holding on to issues from the past, this book will inspire you to change how you perceive and manage life through your circumstances. In addition to sharing his story, David includes reflection questions which encourage the reader to take their own journey of self-discovery to identify and work through blocks that can prevent peace. His management of the separation from his daughter will provide you with hope, while explaining a set of principles that can change how you manage adversity and interact with people around you each day.

Genres: Spirituality, Self Help

152 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

David Brown Jr. is a former senior leader in financial services. He earned a degree in finance at University of Delaware and an Executive MBA at Villanova, as well as, studying organizational leadership, psychology of leadership and organizational dynamics. He has a high desire to encourage others to awaken to their passions and begin to lead more purposeful lives. Sharing his personal story of being separated from his daughter and how that trauma awakened his heart to loving kindness and compassion has further fueled his desire to help others. David is a certified Reiki Master practitioner and life transformation coach.

Reviews

[Kim Eley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you think of when you think about the worst day of your life? How does that day make you feel? David Brown Jr. reveals all of the feelings he went through when two tragic events occur to him on the same day. And what he reveals is nothing short of amazing!

David reacts to the events in the most positive, loving way imaginable. He shares what he was thinking and feeling in a relatable manner. He doesn't shy away from talking about some of the mistakes he made along the way. But he also reveals how he turned to a loving approach to facing his difficulties.

I do not want to give away any spoilers so I have carefully worded my review! I will say READ THIS BOOK! It is fantastic, inspiring and I can't wait to read more from David!

[Shelby Koskela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well written story. The book really helps the reader see how any life experience can be seen as a negative or positive event. He went through such a tragic event but even though things didn’t end up as he had hoped he had such a positive mindset on the whole thing and used it to make his life better. Many of the steps he reviewed throughout the book are things that I too will use to help me through difficult times in my life.
Great book. I highly recommended it to many friends who I know will also enjoy it as well. Thank you David for sharing your story.

[Christine Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gratitude

This book has been a life changing experience of Peace, Love and joy. I leaned that gratitude creates abundance. Heart heals brokenness!

[For the Love of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Brown Jr. was young, successful, ready to have fun and looking for love. Coming from a close, warm family, David wanted to share his ability to love and his passions with someone and in meeting Jolie through mutual friends, he thought he finally had his chance. Jolie originally hailed from Uzbekistan and was a student when she met David. Captivated by her looks, her strong sense of family and more, David thought he had found his person. After Jolie found out she was pregnant, the two were pressured to marry and after his strong initial hesitation, David finally agreed.

Things were not easy for the young couple even after the birth of their daughter Lucia, but David resolved to do whatever he could for his tiny family against all odds. The story begins to shift when the couple disagrees over where Lucia should be taken for medical treatment, the US or abroad, and everything about their relationship begins to fall apart. After maxing out funds to send his wife and daughter overseas, David feels hope when they return, but things again turn towards the negative for David. A normal Saturday ends up being like no other when he receives an email from Jolie informing him that she and Lucia have left the country and there’s nothing he can do to stop them or change her mind. Absolutely furious and also crushed, David learns that his wife, daughter and mother in law have fled to their home country and there seems to be little that he can do about it. It was very disheartening to read how helpless David felt and how much legal and bureaucratic red tape he had to endure just to get answers. With minimal communication from his wife and little hope to ever be reunited with his child, David had no choice but to turn inward for reflection.

Letters for Lucia is an inspirational and emotional read. The author begins each chapter with a letter to the daughter he cannot see and even without knowing her whereabouts, his love for her can be felt across the pages and miles. The lessons he presents to Lucia translate into lessons for the reader and for David himself. He makes it abundantly clear that often we have the choice to choose how we feel, how we react and where we go emotionally. The book is an encouragement to head to the light and to stay positive. David Brown does not preach, readily shares his own downfalls/shortcomings and encourages the reader to step outside of situations and look for paths to acceptance, forgiveness, hope and light. The book is a quick, engaging and each chapter culminates with author presenting questions for the reader to reflect on as part of their own inward journey.

[Nicole S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The love and care poured into this book is tremendous! Letters for Lucia shows how we can navigate through life tribulations in a manner that results in a refinement of ourselves. David's reality is reminder for us, written in his own thoughts,for when we face diverse challenges to plant our feet firmly on solid ground; face the situation head on and glean from it the things that are efficacious for a overall lifestyle improvement! The principles outlined in this book are closely aligned to those written in Scripture therefore, whether the reader is spiritual or not, the message of love, positivity, and forgiveness is found throughout this book. David's ability to share such an unfathomable life event and use it as a mechanism to help others- speaks to a man of a strong character who not only believes the principles that have guided him; but also speaks volumes to the level of humility he has reached.
Letters for Lucia will make you in instant cheerleader for this father and daughter reunion and give you life applications to adjust in your personal space as well!

[Jeff Loveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

David humbles himself by exposing to the world subject matter shared by many, yet revealed publicly by few due to shame or embarrassment. This is what I respect and value most from this book. The author reaches out to those facing adversity and reassures them they are not alone; the ability to approach a situation with optimism is within their power. This book provides the road map as to the 'how' regarding change of mindset to one of positive outcome. I love how "Letters for Lucia" is a reminder that even those with the ostensibly best public personas can also face difficulties; a testimony of David's realization and decision to overcome a natural tendency of negativity.

[Jeff Loveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

David humbles himself by exposing to the world subject matter shared by many, yet revealed publicly by few due to shame or embarrassment. This is what I respect and value most from this book. The author reaches out to those facing adversity and reassures them they are not alone; the ability to approach a situation with optimism is within their power. This book provides the road map as to the 'how' regarding change of mindset to one of positive outcome. I love how "Letters for Lucia" is a reminder that even those with the ostensibly best public personas can also face difficulties; a testimony of David's realization and decision to overcome a natural tendency of negativity.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book

This book is absolutely beautiful and I never write reviews. But I learned so much from this book. The level of forgiveness that is displayed from chapter to chapter is amazing. He teaches how to forgive, why to forgive and shows you how to grow as a human being. I've been on a spiritual journey for a while now and have been through some ups and downs but if the author can show so much compassion in such a horrible situation then I have a long way to go. I believe any one who reads this book will take something deep and meaningful with them. Great book!

[Darrell F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently finished reading “Letters for Lucia: 8 Principles for Navigating Adversity” by David Brown Jr.

I was captivated by David’s journey and ultimate discovery of the power of choice in determining how he is moving forward after such a life altering experience. He has an amazing ability to pull you in to this very personal story by weaving in the beautifully written letters to Lucia followed by the experiences that allowed him to reflect and learn.

This book is more than a story about an unfortunate experience of a father losing his daughter. It is about forgiving oneself and finding healthy ways to move forward.

I would definitely recommend!

[Vince Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing arrangement of words, emotion, and hope provided via one man’s journey through life. During the exercise of discovering his purpose one cannot help but to embark upon their own realization of self. For me that is what this book has provided. Although I have not been within the same situation, I was faced with taking on similar emotions as each letter pulls on the strings of the “primal” human sentiment. As a conclusion the clarity came that this is not just a book rather this is a navigational tool for understanding, embracing, and owning the human experience.

[Danelle Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome read. Definitely helps with motivation to get myself in a better spot in my life. I can relate to Mr. Brown's situation. I found the book to be inspirational and would recommend to anyone out there that has things going on in there life. I look forward to the next book David Brown jr. writes.

[Jean Camper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very uplifting, inspirational and helpful. I done a lot of highlighting in this book and will use it as reference to apply in my life