When we lose the ones we love, we say some words. We remember them. We reminisce about the good times, and it’s for the memory of the ones we lose as well as for ourselves. Sarah was not given a proper funeral. This was due to her status of being Shunned (Disfellowshipped) from her religion, and as her husband I’ve not had closure. Because of this I’ve carried a burden and words unspoken for the last few years, and no one knows her full story – her struggles and final moments. Thank you to Michael Shemwell for helping me work through my loss and for putting together a way to remember Sarah and share her story.

Sarah Nelson Harding will always be remembered by many as the light in the room, and the life of the group! She had such energy, and fun about her, a love for life and desire to grow. She was very artistic and expressed her feelings through drawing and painting, and had a wide range of loved music that was close to her heart to cover all of the emotions.

She was adventurous and outgoing, and more so than I thought I ever was! Nearly every amazing memory I have was with her, and she only graced my life for less than 5 years. We polar plunged in the Fox River in the middle of a Chicago winter, and dove from the tops of cliffs into Cenotes in Mexico!! We rode a catamaran in the Caribbean and went Skydiving (indoor though)! She introduced me to karaoke and my own love of music, even meeting a political figure while singing karaoke one night, which turned into a dear friend of ours! She had a way about her, even when she sang in front on a crowd of strangers, she had no inhibitions and would belt out Journey as if she was on tour!! I would never have known that someone could sing so beautifully and be out of key!! Every time, she would get standing applause from the entire room!!

We had a practice of eating healthy and being active, and that woman was very strong! Her red hair gave her the nickname of Red Beast!! And I was Uber Beast, to follow suit with the nickname and not necessarily because I was fit.

She couldn’t have children of her own, but she fiercely loved her niece and nephew, and her friends children that she referred to as her minions! But she would have been a wonderful mother had she had the opportunity.

Sarah had so much life ahead of her! And I miss her every day, as many do. I can only imagine the pain in the heart of her family and friends that willfully shunned her and caused her great pain. They believe they were doing what God wanted them to do. I do not blame them. Rather, I encourage them to be WILLING to ask questions and seek answers. Shunning someone you love does not feel good, because it isn’t. Someone else is telling you to lose your natural affection for someone in order to blackmail them to come back on hands and knees for an offense that you are not allowed to know the details of. Don’t be manipulated.

Truth does not mind being questioned. A lie does not like being challenged.

– Cameron

The song that Cameron chose to represent Sarah’s story is Far Behind by Candlebox.

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This podcast was made possible by my original podcast This JW Life. You can find it on any podcast app or on YouTube. It is a 9 part series about life as Jehovah’s Witnesses designed to help you understand how it worked in one comprehensive story and to help you process your own if you came from that environment.