Athens woman writes a book to help other grieving mothers who have lost a child
Athens mother Tracy Westfall began writing down her thoughts into a diary while grieving the death of her son, Tucker, who passed away on June 2, 2018, at the age of 15 years old, in an ATV accident. She has since put her thoughts on Tucker’s tragic accident into a published book that has now been released.
“After four years of reflecting on all of what happened, I decided that this was a remarkable story,” Westfall said.
She put together a manuscript and submitted it to a publishing company.
“The publishing company representative told me they receive thousands of submissions, and reject many, so I wasn’t very optimistic but I thought I’d give it a try and see what happened,” Westfall said.
She received word that her manuscript was approved for publication and she received a formal offer to publish in February 2022. The book title is “Here For A Good Time, Not A Long Time-Don’t Ignore the Signs.”
“The purpose of writing the book was to let others know there are signs of your loved one after death,” Westfall said. “One just has to be open to accepting it. I had already helped one person (the publisher) when the book was in its infancy state, so I knew then I had made a good choice to put this book out to the public.”
Tucker Westfall was a freshman on the Athens High School baseball 2017 WIAA Division 4 state championship team, which was the school’s second state baseball title in school history. His father, Dale Westfall, was a player on Athens’ 1982 Class C state championship squad and he had the privilege of coaching his son Tucker on the 2017 Athens baseball state title team.
The Athens baseball team hung Tucker’s baseball uniform in the dugout after he passed away, which helped propel the Bluejays to winning back-to-back WIAA Division 4 state championships in 2018. The Bluejays now play their home games on Tucker Westfall Memorial Field.
“Tucker’s book is personal, raw, touching, eye-opening and very real,” Tracy Westfall said. “It includes many of Tucker’s friends and actions taken by the Athens community to honor him following his death. It is a book that can be read in one or two days.” “The book contains background on the community of Athens, how Dale and I initially grew up here and moved back here to raise our family, the accident, the T12 and T22 car stickers, the state baseball championship, the renovation efforts by so many for the Tucker Westfall Memorial Field, the scholarship that was developed in his name, the golf outing (including the par 9 sign specifi cally designed in his honor) and all the signs I have accepted, and will not ignore, that he is truly near and reaching out in various ways.”
Westfall noted Tucker’s friends and her friends, as well as her family members, have heard her “it’s just another sign” stories because she says they are too genuine to ignore.
“When I look at all of the signs, and reflect on the entire picture of what has been happening and what continues to happen, one would understand why I feel Tucker remains very close,” she said. “He’s sending these signs. I know he is. If I stop reaching out to Tucker, then why would he continue to try to connect with me? So I make myself available to him, see and acknowledge his signs, talk to him and ask that he continues to do what he’s doing until I see him again. It is a very special connection that is difficult to relay to others unless one is living it. It’s our way of communicating with each other.”
The book is in distribution and is available for people to buy online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Instagram.
“Happy Birthday my sweet son!” Westfall said.
Dale and Tracy Westfall’s other son, Tanner Westfall, graduated from Athens High School in 2020 and he is finishing his third year attending UWStevens Point. He has now changed his major from forestry to engineering and he plans to transfer to UW-Platteville.
