I wrote Girls as a reminder.
A reminder to myself that it was ok after all these years to still miss my mom.

The Love Tea
Embrace love, loss and healing with Spiritual Medium Debra Savoy and me.
Sunday January 20 1-3 pm
Old Stones Private Room
Four Points by Sheraton, Kingston
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About the book
I wrote Girls as a reminder.
A reminder to myself that it was ok after all these years to still miss my mom.
I wanted to find others whose mothers had also died young and help remind them that it was ok for them, too. We were young girls who lost young moms ~ many of us then (and now) marching on for years without her at birthdays, graduations, celebrations, marriages, babies, divorces, remarriages, deaths of friends and loved ones. On and on. All the celebrations, events, losses and happenings that really matter in life.
During the three years it took to complete Girls we all learned to better understand how losing our young mothers impacted us and influenced our identity and relationships, then and now.
Meet the Design Team Buy the Book
As a motherless daughter (and mother of daughters) I read with a sense of recognition, connection and appreciation. The daughters’ stories continue to resonate because, while deeply felt, they are unsentimental; therein lies their power. Linda Gayle Ross encourages readers to understand and to share their own stories, forging a connection with her audience that is powerful and deserved.
Deeply moving .. important .. beautiful composition .. remarkable photography and artwork.
Donna Walsh Inglehart, author of the critically-acclaimed Civil War novel, Grindstone.
Stunning .. clean .. powerful .. brilliant .. stops you in your tracks.
Kathryn Wood, National Capital Resources Inc.
You must be proud of bringing a glimmer of an idea to full and fabulous fruition -- a real labour of love.
Madam Justice Anne Trousdale, Kingston, CA.
None of us heard my mom’s story until we read it in the book. Hard to believe someone keeps something like that in for 60 years. It’s meant so much to my mom to be able to talk about it.
Wendy Osborne, Kingston, CA.
I feel like I know each of these incredible women, yet I’m struck by how little I know my own mom, Shirley, one of your Girls, because I’ve grown up not realizing the impact her mother’s death had on her.
Laurie Ross, Kingston, CA.
What a privilege to peer into the lives of The Girls as it helped me understand some of the actions and behaviours of one of my cousins who lost both her mother and father at about ten years of age.
Heather Gascoigne, Sydney, AU
My mom inspired me from an early age. Girls made me realize how fortunate I am to have her still here and still inspiring me.
Jay Mandarino, President, C.J.Graphics, Inc. Toronto, CA.
This has been simply life altering.
Maegan McConnell, Kingston, CA
The team
In The Girls in the Front Row, fourteen women, aged sixteen to ninety, tell their powerful, inspirational stories surrounded by remarkable photography and original art work.
The Girls creative team includes Suzy Lamont, Tracy John, Vanessa Pizzinato and Australian live performance, installation artist Kellie O’Dempsey. Printed in Canada by CJ Graphics, CJ captured the coveted Toronto Club Printing House Craftsman Gold Award for superb craftsmanship in the book’s production.
Now in Edition 2 and boasting this coveted print and design award, Girls is a valuable resource in respite centers, hospices, and online libraries as well as with individuals across Canada, USA and Australia.
IN THE MEDIA
On a cold Alberta morning, this prairie “Front Row Girl” met some of McMurray’s warmest hearts. In response to my new book “The Girls in the Front Row”, stories of early mother loss and its impact, a small group of McMurray’s leading ladies joined me in a session hosted by the Ft. McMurray United Way to… Read more
Your McMurray Magazine
Book Launch
Over 300 family members and guests joined The Girls in the Front Row, our Creative Team and me for an incredible Live Drawing Performance by Australian Artist (and Front Row Girl), Kellie O'Dempsey and Australian Musician Michael Dick.