Kristen Rademacher

Your body is away from me, but there is a window open from my heart to yours.
From this window, like the moon, I keep sending news secretly. —Rumi

From the Lake House

A Mother’s Odyssey of Loss and Love

Dizzy with grief after a shattering breakup, Kristen did what any sensible thirty-nine-year-old woman would do: she fled, abandoning her well-ordered life in metropolitan Boston and impulsively relocating to a college town in North Carolina to start anew with a freshly divorced southerner.

Dismissing the neon signs that flashed Rebound Relationship, Kristen was charmed by the host of contrasts with her new beau. He loved hunting and country music, she loved yoga and NPR; he worried about nothing, she worried about everything. The luster of her new romance and small-town lifestyle soon—and predictably—faded, but by then a pregnancy test stick had lit up. As Kristen’s belly grew, so did her concern about the bond with her partner—and so did a fierce love for her unborn child. Ready or not, she was about to become a mother. And then, tragedy struck.

Poignant and insightful, From the Lake House explores the echoes of rash decisions and ill-fated relationships, the barren and disorienting days an aching mother faces without her baby, and the mysterious healing that can take root while rebuilding a life gutted from loss.

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Reviews

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A riveting, emotional, and candidly engaging read from first page to last, From the Lake House is an extraordinary story by an extraordinary woman.

Midwest Book Review

Press

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A poignant and painful remembrance with comforting messages for the grieving.

Kirkus Reviews

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Kristen Rademacher’s achingly honest memoir about her losses of place, partner, and much-anticipated baby daughter Carly resonates with courage and an abiding gratitude for the preciousness of life. A truly tender reflection about loss that illuminates the devastating experience of baby loss.

—Janel Atlas, Writer and Editor, They Were Still Born: Personal Stories about Stillbirth

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From the Lake House speaks to many women’s experiences and emotional low points. Rademacher is an honest narrator and occasional wisecracker who’s honest enough to occasionally sketch herself in an unflattering light. Often, she’s eloquent.

—Wilmington Star News

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The author perfectly captures the decisions that some women make when experiencing heartbreak… This was a book that felt like fiction, but it was the author’s real life experience. I really enjoyed this one.

—Net Galley

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In this beautifully written and poignant memoir, we learn that though people and dreams die, relationships don’t. If we’re attuned, the dead can transform our lives, offering enduring love and guidance—and hope.

—Carol Henderson, Author, Losing Malcolm: A Mother’s Journey Through Grief and Farther Along: The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers

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From the Lake House is phenomenal in its realness and the calmness with which it is told… This powerful and realistic memoir is a testament to how resilient a woman can be when she wants to survive and mend her heart.

—Readers Favorite (5 Star Review)

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An absolutely powerful memoir about a mother’s love and the quiet pain of women… I felt deeply changed by reading it. I highly recommend this chronicle of heartache and inner strength. 

—Teddy Rose, Premier Virtual Author Book Tours

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Written with tender honesty and luscious language, From the Lake House is a joy to read, even amidst the pangs of heartache and loss. 

—Alexis Marie Chute, Award-Winning Author of Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing, and Pregnancy After Loss

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The book is a testimony to the strength of the human spirit and how one can come back from devastating loss… Kristen Rademacher has crafted an honest and compelling memoir… Others who have experienced the heartbreak of losing a child as well as failed love affair will witness a profound healing the way one woman achieved it.

—Net Galley

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The author bares her precious scars, and in doing so, gives comfort and reassurance to anyone who has lost a child or, indeed, to anyone who has lost someone close, and that means all of us.

—Deborah Shepherd, author of So Happy Together

About Kristen

Kristen Rademacher has lived in Chapel Hill, NC since 2002, which is where she began writing.  With a master’s degree in education and a certification as a life coach, her career in education spans 30 years.  She taught at the elementary school level for thirteen years in New England, and then transitioned to working with college students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Academic Coach and ADHD/LD Specialist. Kristen also has a private coaching practice for teens and adults with ADHD. She is well suited for her vocation as she truly loves helping people and is inspired by the trials and triumphs of their stories.  

From the Lake House: A Mother’s Odyssey of Loss and Love is Kristen’s debut memoir that originated as a series of essays about grief. For nearly a decade, she worked with a women’s writing group where they critiqued and edited each other’s work.  With the support of this group of talented and accomplished writers, Kristen’s initial essays morphed into a full memoir.

Kristen channels her creativity through writing, cooking and knitting. She also loves a long mountain hike, an afternoon lost in a juicy book or podcast, and the company of beloved family and friends. 

Latest Blog Posts

From The Lake House: A One Year Anniversary

From The Lake House: A One Year Anniversary

I released my memoir in July of 2020, one year ago. Despite preparing for a nervous breakdown as the release date approached, I didn’t implode. Sure, the world at large seemed to collapse, but I managed to publish my personal story—held so close to my chest for nearly...

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Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and October 15th is Remembrance Day. My daughter was born still almost 17 years ago, and my memoir, From the Lake House, explores my experience navigating the loss. Did you know that about 70 babies are stillborn...

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Mother’s Day: It’s Complicated

Mother’s Day: It’s Complicated

I just learned that Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day in the U.S., had spent the last years of her life protesting its turn to commercialism. The inspiration behind her push for Mother's Day had been her own mom—a social activist during the Civil War who...

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Essays

My First Pub Date: Hand-Wringing and Epiphanies

My First Pub Date: Hand-Wringing and Epiphanies

The essay below was published in Books By Women, an online literary magazine by and about women. Barbara Bos in the managing editor, and I'm pleased to share my work on her site. I wrote My First Pub Date a month or so after my memoir, From the Lake House, was...

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For Her Father

For Her Father

The essay below was published in Still Standing Magazine in July 2020. I'd been thinking about bereaved fathers this past spring—particulary in June when Father's Day hit. For Her Father is the result. I'm grateful to be in a peaceful place so that I could write an...

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A Complicated Book Launch

A Complicated Book Launch

I've shared with almost everyone that for me, writing a book has proven to be much easier than promoting it. Give me a laptop and some solitude, and I can happily click away on my keyboard for the day. But ask me to try and convince people to read my work? No thank...

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