Mother of kidnapped Gil-Ad Shaer rolls out 'Sweet Heart' for son's b-day
'Expecting My Son: A Mother's Longing,' was recently released in English.
By ILANIT CHERNICKMothers of Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel(photo credit: ISRAEL AT THE UN-GENEVA)“Expecting My Son is a book that will inspire and make people introspect.”These were the words of Bat Galim Shaer, mother of Gilad Shaer, who was kidnapped and killed by terrorists during the Summer of 2014 along with Eyal Yifrah and Naftali Fraenkel.Shaer’s book, Expecting My Son: A Mother’s Longing, was recently released in English. The family is marking what would have been Gilad’s birthday on Thursday with a special event to promote Ahavat Chinum – baseless love.The event, called “Sweet Heart,” calls on people across the world to bake a sweet treat, like cookies or cake, and give it to a stranger.“Gilad loved to bake and make sweet things in the kitchen,” Shaer said, adding that it is part of the Gilad’s Kitchen initiative on social media. “We have people all around the world joining, from Mexico City to Miami. We’ve also translated [the initiative] into five languages... We hope it will make a big impact on people, because people want to be in a good place and do good for others,” she added.Speaking about her book, Shaer said she wrote a diary of all her thoughts and feelings during and after the ordeal.“After a year, I realized I had a book,” she said, adding that it was first published a few years ago in Hebrew. Last year, it was translated into English and went on sale in September, just prior to Rosh Hashanah.“There are special stories in the book that will touch everyone, and just remember this is not only my story, it’s all of Am Yisrael’s story too,” Shaer told The Jerusalem Post, adding that this is why she decided to publish it. “I saw the unity of Am Yisrael and all the good deeds that were done, and it gave us a huge hug.”It is not just a diary, it’s filled with inspirational stories too, Shaer said.“They’re stories that people can connect with,” she said. “It is not a story of sadness, it’s all about unity and meaningfulness. People from all around the world feel that they have a connection with us and to what happened.”Shaer said writing the book was good for her psychologically, adding that it was very therapeutic to share her personal thoughts, feelings and stories about what happened.She has received a lot of feedback from people who have read the book, Shaer said.“They have written a lot about their thoughts and feelings too,” she said. “I’ve heard from people of all ages, men and women, and they’ve told me their thoughts about their own situations.”Shaer said she wanted the book to give strength to people when it comes to building and dealing with their own difficulties.A lot of soldiers have also written to her and the family after reading it, she said.“We are always trying to lead meaningful lives, and I hope this book will give meaning and inspiration to all who read it,” Shaer said.The book is available on Amazon for $20.
