I Always Meant to Tell You

In this book, Perry Robert Wilkes writes through his grieving process in the face of losing not just one, but three, remarkable and much loved family members: his younger and only brother Steve, Steve's wife Janette, and their younger son Eliot. All perished in the crash of a small plane in the Alaskan wilderness, while thier older son, Alec, waited in Perry's home for his family's return.

Much of the writing of this book was done in Baha de Kino, a small, remote Mexican seaside community where the family had vacationed together and to which Perry and his partner, Carolyn, returned yearly for retreat and renewal. It was the way Perry chose to heal from his own pain; honor the lives of Steve, Janette, and Eliot; and give a gift of love to their friends and family, and especially his nephew Alec. As an ongoing conversation with Steve, it is also a reminder to anyone struggling with the loss of someone very dear that the conversation need never end, because true love has a story to tell and a voice that can never be stilled.

This Second Edition also deals with additional grief due to the death of Alec, who, at the age of 34, took his own life, never having been able to overcome the tragedy of losing his family. Grieving, healing, and loving is a life-long process.