ven when life is kicking her in the teeth, Jaclyn Michelle Smith delivers life’s punchlines with exquisite comedic timing. While loss and grief are no joke, I’m Sorry I Cremated You demonstrates how laughing at the irony of the human condition can provide space to breathe and make meaning in the absurdity of it all.
On paper, Jaclyn’s life looked pretty perfect, the much younger sister in a family of four, she was practically raised as an only child. Immersed in her parents’ love and attention, the line between affection and obsession was often fuzzy. Jaclyn reflects on her lifelong relationships with family, friends, and her constant companion—pervasive anxiety.
Jaclyn confronts the stories she told herself growing up while watching both of her parents succumb to illness. Looking back, Jaclyn now appreciates how her parent’s love sometimes elevated her and sometimes constrained her. Now that they are both gone, this rear-view assessment mixes the heartwarming feeling of family with the heartbreaking reality of the loss of both familial and romantic bonds. What is left is a strong woman, made all the more resilient because of her ability to laugh off what she can’t control and change her perspective.
As a trained social worker and HR professional, Jaclyn is at her heart a people person, and she wrote this book as a love letter to her brothers and sisters in grief as Generation X and Millennials begin to confront the decline and death of their parents while maintaining careers and personal lives. It is her sincerest hope that her journey will comfort and inspire those heart-sick souls because, as we all know, laughter is the best medicine.