Book of Walks alternative book launch

Hi, my name is Deb Todd Wheeler, and I am an artist in the Boston area. Five years ago, my world was ripped apart by the unexpected death of my son Lucas. Since then, I have become immersed in the sacred work of grief tending, expressed through nature and mixed media. Today, I am proud to partner with The Children’s Room in Arlington, MA - a place where I found compassion, solace, and encouragement - in launching The Book of Walks. By donating to this GoFundMe campaign, you will help The Children's Room support grieving families whose lives will never be the same. And you may experience something magical. Intrigued? Read on!

A bit of my grief-tending background…

Since 2019, I've guided hundreds of people through an intimate sound walk through the Lost Pond with my dog, Puck. This idiosyncratic, immersive experience was something I created to tend to my overwhelming grief over the sudden loss of my son Lucas, and my brother Rob. Over the years, Puck and I have taken people on an audio tour through reclaimed landscape, gently sharing stories, listening to sounds and songs alone and together, and silently connecting with the world of Lost Pond. It has become a profoundly healing, powerful grief ritual for me, and one I am glad to have shared with so many different people, each grieving in their own way.

Why am I telling you this? Because as a donor, you will discover these touching experiences in The Book of Walks: a compendium of our time at Lost Pond. The Book of Walks takes you through this magical, otherworldly place, with of all kinds of people, in all kinds of New England weather. In it, you'll walk with me through this superfund cleanup site, which transforms around us as I tend Lucas’ shrine, which sits at its heart.

The Book of Walks is for anyone who is ready to step into the sacred work of holding space for processing loss. This GoFundMe offers many ways for you to enter a portal of grief tending. Plus, your donation financially supports the sacred work of grief tending at The Children’s Room. Proceeds from the sale of THIS release of the Book of Walks will support the vital work they do with grieving families, in person and remotely.

Why The Children’s Room? Our family started going there in 2018, a year after the loss of Lucas, at the urging of our friend Tim O'Brien, who fundraised for The Children's Room every year by running The Boston Marathon, until his untimely death in 2021. Going to The Children's Room helped us find a way to share our grief in community, by being with others who experienced profound losses not unlike our own.

As a grieving parent, what I learned at The Children's Room was humbling. I watched volunteers hold different kinds of spaces for the parents and the children, as they all walked through their splintered worlds in different stages of shock. This experience influenced how I guide the walk at LOST POND, where I embrace the idea of building provisional community, listening, and being present for whatever arises.

Let's get started!

This Fundraiser and alternative book launch has several levels of participation:

1. Pre-order a book (NOTE: donations made after September 24, 2023 will ship in mid October.) for a $40 donation. The 160 page Book of Walks is a soft cover 6" x 9" book. It might be more than just a book, it might be a whole reading experience!

2. If you donate $100, I'll send you a book + one of the leather bracelets Lucas' Words to Live By. (One of the first things I did when Lucas died was return to my old jeweler’s bench and make myself a talisman. I felt called to wear something that pulled on my neck, and had a weight that confirmed the heavier psychological weight of what was happening to me. I continue to make commemorative jewelry for friends and family, and these bracelets are designed to embrace what I determined were the 6 pillars Lucas lived by.) If you choose this level, I'll be emailing you for your choice of one of the phrases. Choose the one you need to be reminded of!

3. Schedule a guided audiowalk at LOST POND with me in Brookline, MA for a sliding scale $50-$200 donation. (NOTE! There are only a limited amount of these audiowalks offered, so if you're interested, act now. If you have already done this, maybe let someone else take this one?) Learn more about the RADIO SILENCE audiowalk here.

4. Be a host! Host a reading and book signing at your house, or at a local bookstore, or someone else's house! For a donation of $600 I will bring you 15 books, and do a reading and book signing. (Your town must be within 2 hours of driving distance from Boston. If you live farther away, consider being a sponsor!)

5. Be a sponsor! For a donation of $1,000, plus travel and lodging, I will come to your town and create a grief ritual for your group. Maybe people in your sphere have experienced loss, and you just don't know what to do. There's no right answer, but we can start with Francis Weller's template for creating ritual through gathering in a meaningful way. Start the process here.

NOTE! If you are looking to make a tax-deductible donation instead, you can donate directly to The Children's Room via their website. Please make sure to include a note that the donation is to honor Lucas Wheeler and the Book of Walks.

NOTE!! If you have chosen one of the 5 options above, THANK YOU! Once you donate, I will email you to determine which option you have chosen, and to get your contact information.

More info and acknowledgments:

About the sound walk....

The intimate sound walk through the LOST POND is called RADIO SILENCE. It is a geo-located audiowalk involving song, site, sound, technology, and the willingness of a community of artists, musicians, friends, family, and strangers to step into the woods with me and walk the wild edge of sorrow.

A project as deep as this doesn't happen without the work of many hands...

To every one of the hundreds of people who walked with me: thank you. This walk has kept me close to Lucas, his laughter, his exuberance. And to Rob. Thank you for helping keep their spirits alive.

RADIO SILENCE audiowalk would not have gotten off the ground without the encouragement and support of my friend and collaborator and co-producer Terrance Reeves, as well as the talents of the LENNYcollective musicians, who brought the songs to life; Tessa Day, Josh Margolis, Chris Burleson, Josie Lowder, Aimee Good, Elspeth McSurely, Danielle Pinals, Andrew Wheeler, and, of course, the late, the great, Rob Todd.

Special thanks to Jane Marsching and all my friends who walked and workshopped the early test walks, when things were still coming into focus.

Thank you Tessa Day for editing the Book of Walks text so generously, Betty Wong for proofreading so carefully, John Kramer for coaxing this unwieldy Book of Walks into a form, and Jill Slosburg-Ackerman for contributing such a thoughtful, encompassing essay.

Special thanks to Kelly Davidson and Elijah Mickelson for photographing the elusive vibe of the LOST POND. Thank you to Henry Fletcher for showing me how to guide a walk with purpose through all kinds of weather, in the West Fjords of Iceland. Thank you to the Deep Listening community, Union Docs, the Emergence Network, and Joanna Macy for the classes that brought theory into practice for me. Thank you to Alison Layton and the Boston area artist community for the incredible flowers that you arranged into astounding displays of artistry and ingenuity at the Newton Baptist Church for Lucas's service in 2017. The magic in those flowers is the basis of Lucas' shrine, which sits at the heart of RADIO SILENCE, even though those flowers are long gone.

Last but not least, thank you to Eli and Andrew Wheeler for all your encouragement, and to Puck for being a steady and dependable and handsome collaborator.

image list:

1, 2. Puck and Deb photo by Kelly Davidson

3-5. pages from the Book of Walks, designed by John Kramer

6,7. photo with Cambridge artist and audiowalk participant, Wen-hao Tien