Author Turns Devastating Loss Into Purpose To Help Others With Grief

Eileen Robertson Hamra’s new book “Time to Fly-Life and Love After Loss” chronicles how she navigated her grief with her three young children after her husband was killed in a plane crash at age 38 in 2011. She has book signings around the Washington D.C. Metro Area and in Baltimore and Richmond this month.

Washington D.C. (June 26, 2023) -- Author Eileen Robertson Hamra’s new book “Time to Fly-Life and Love After Loss” (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Time-to-Fly/Eileen-Robertson-Hamra/9781947951181) published by City Point Press chronicles how she and her three young children healed and rebuilt their lives after her husband was killed in a plane crash at age 38 in 2011, just three days before Christmas. Life as Eileen knew it, instantaneously changed the moment authorities confirmed that the plane her husband, Brian Robertson, a tech entrepreneur and CEO was piloting had crashed and he had not survived. Robertson was co-founder of SunEdison in Maryland and in 2009 became CEO of Amonix in Seal Beach, California, one of the nation's leading solar power companies at the time.

Now, 12 years later, Eileen and her now expanded family are living a life, while different than they once imagined, is full of love and purpose. She hopes her story will provide hope and inspiration to those searching for a way to navigate their own grief.

In addition to the D.C. event, she will host book signings in Richmond, VA on June 27 and in Boston on Friday, June 30. She has also hosted events in Chicago, Baltimore, MD and Alexandria, VA.

Robertson Hamra was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Prince Georges County. Eileen attended Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg (and was a classmate of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser). She is also a graduate of Virginia Tech. Eileen and Brian lived in the Washington DC/Baltimore metropolitan area for five years before moving to California. After his death, she and the children moved back to Maryland to be near her family. When she remarried, she and her children moved to Chicago with her second husband, Mike Hamra. She had a fourth child at age 46 and the family now lives in Springfield, Missouri.

“This book tour stop is all about gratitude. We have so many family members, friends and colleagues in this area who loved and supported us when we were struggling. Brian and I spent many happy years here with our young children and I have so many great memories,” said Eileen Robertson Hamra. “I wrote Time to Fly to help others struggling with loss and grief. It is the kind of book I wish I had when Brian first died. I yearned to hear inspirational stories of how families survived this kind of devastating loss.”

The themes in Time to Fly of loss, grief and healing are universal. Loss in life is inevitable and everyone experiences intense grief at times. People want hope and are seeking healthy and effective coping strategies to move through their loss and navigate grief.

“Unresolved grief can cripple people, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Although the work to heal the pain and trauma is not easy, the impact of doing the work necessary can heal not only the individual but also their families and communities.” said Robertson Hamra. “Even in our darkest times there are silver linings and it is important to look for them. It is possible to evolve through loss and grief and develop capacities we didn't have before like expanding our capacity to love and finding new ways to contribute to others that we never imagined.”

In the process of mourning her loss, with three young children in tow, where Eileen wandered and landed was nothing short of miraculous. Despite the dark sense of having been gutted, Eileen learned ways to turn loss and grief into an opportunity to create a new life. She and her children not only survived their devastating loss, today they are thriving. She also found a new purpose in life, helping those who have suffered great loss work through their grief and rebuild their lives.

In addition to authoring her book, Robertson Hamra also donates her time and resources conducting wellness workshops for people struggling with loss and grief. She recently completed a three-month wellness workshop with non-profit Rincon Family Services in Chicago for people who lost family members to gun violence.

“Often times, people feel pressured to “move on and get over it” without having any idea of how. It is the process of transforming your grief that allows us to heal and grow. Loss can be an opportunity and grief can be a pathway to an extraordinary future full of new possibilities that also honors those you lost. I share my personal transformation in hopes of inspiring others,” said Robertson Hamra.

People process loss and grieve differently but these are the strategies Eileen talks about in her book and at her wellness workshops.

• Take care of yourself and take actions that make you feel physically, mentally, and spiritually better even on days you do not feel like getting out of bed. Grief and trauma are not just mentally and emotionally hard but physically painful as well. A holistic approach to healing is necessary.
• Persevere in working your way through the grief. Do not try to numb, ignore or bury your grief. It is painful to confront, but it also provides the pathway to forging a new and often extraordinary life for yourself and others.
• Always look for the silver linings. They are there and provide the keys to opening up the opportunity to build a new life.
• Allow yourself to be vulnerable and ask for and receive the help you need. Even though it may seem like a one-way exchange, allowing others to contribute to you is also a gift to them. Additionally, people often want to help but do not know how or are concerned about being intrusive. Please ask for what you really need and let others help you. Being buoyed by friends, teachers, strangers, angels, and of course, family is so important.
• Finally, respect your emotions, whatever they are, and know it may seem like a roller coaster. Resisting what you are feeling will keep you stuck in the vicious circles of grief and stifle the possibilities to grow. When you are sad be sad, when you are ok be ok, and when you are happy be happy. It’s all part of the process.

About the Author Eileen Robertson Hamra is a life coach, philanthropist, and CEO of Fit Together, LLC. In 2012, she established the Brian D. Robertson Memorial Foundation, which focuses on education and the environment, to honor the legacy of her late husband. Eileen and her husband Mike Hamra reside in Springfield, Missouri with their four children, Melanie, Brooke, Max, and Zack and their two dogs Buddy and Zippy.