A Candle for My Mother is an inspirational story of a young woman from the Midwest, Lorraine Newton, who longed to travel the world despite being the mother of four young children. "I'm going to see places, come hell or high water!" Lorraine remarked, and she made it happen. Lorraine's stories in the book are told in her own words from tape recordings she made before she died, and letters saved by a friend, detailing Lorraine's family's amazing experiences in Iraq and travels in Europe.
Many years later, when Lorraine was dying from ovarian cancer, her youngest daughter, Pamela, was called to go to a business meeting in London while working for Paramount Pictures. Pam was afraid her mother would die while she was on the trip. In London, Pam went into Westminster Abbey to find solace and light a candle in the hope her mother would live until she returned. Lorraine did for two more months. Little did Pam know that in that moment in Westminster Abbey she began a tradition she keeps to this day. "Whenever I travel, and I am able, I visit a church to light a candle for my mother. It is my way of honoring her."
A few years later after the London trip, Pam was working for the international group at DreamWorks Animation. She was logging over 100,000 miles a year. "I never felt closer to my mom than when I was traveling. These monthly DreamWorks trips gave me the opportunity to reflect on my mother and all that she gave me in this life. Mom's adventurous spirit was with me on every trip, in every country, encouraging me to make the most of each moment." The things that happened or that Pam experienced on her DreamWorks corporate business trips often triggered some remembrance of her mother and her childhood. These memories became the reflections and gratitudes that Pam expresses at the end of each chapter when visiting churches across the globe to light candles for her mother. Knowing others may think of some exciting memories from their childhood, A Candle for My Mother is designed to be a gift to oneself or one's mom with blank pages to give you the space to write your own reflections, add pictures, or decorate it any way you like. Read it, write in it and then give it to your mother...with gratitude.
Author Biography:
Pamela L. Newton is a seasoned marketing executive whose lengthy career includes over twenty years in the entertainment industry. Now, with the publication of her revolutionary new memoir, A Candle for My Mother, Newton adds "author" to her professional resume. Infected at an early age by her mother's adventurous spirit and love of worldwide travel, Newton grew up to embrace a similar lifestyle, grateful for any opportunities to travel the globe. "I've always enjoyed telling stories," she reminisces. "My mom was the best storyteller ever. I have such fond memories of entertaining friends and family with tales of her travels, and of my own. With this book, I'm realizing a dream that I've held close to my heart for decades: writing this 'love letter' to my mother, highlighting our family's highly unusual lifestyle." The revolutionary approach employed by A Candle for My Mother will allow each reader to "personalize" the book, utilizing the book's blank pages to write personalized messages to their own mothers. The youngest of four daughters, Newton's father was an oil driller from Pennsylvania; her mother, a bookkeeper, grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. The couple met and married in California. Although money was tight for such a large family, her mother never gave up her dream to see the world, and she talked her husband into working overseas. As a result, Newton began her world travels at age three! She's lived in such exotic locales as Iraq and attended boarding school in England. After moving with her family back to Southern California, Newton spent her summer vacations in Kuwait where her father was then working. Newton landed in the entertainment industry, working her way up to become Vice President of Marketing and Licensing for Paramount Pictures and later became Head of International Retail Partnerships at DreamWorks Animation, traveling about 100,000 miles a year to such exotic locations as London, Paris, Madrid, Sydney, Hong Kong, Seoul and Berlin. Currently, Newton divides her time between writing and teaching marketing courses at The Los Angeles Film School, where she enjoys mentoring the next generation of talented entertainment industry professionals. "It's my hope that the readers of my book will find their own story in their relationships with their mothers, recognizing their own mothers' gifts to them," Newton explains. "This book is designed to be a gift. Read it, write in it and then give it to your mother...with gratitude."
