Endure: A Memoir of Grief, Resilience, and Love by Kelly McCoy is a deeply moving narrative that invites readers into a grieving parent’s raw and unfiltered journey. The memoir is a tribute to McCoy’s son, Cooper James. The narrative acts not only as a tribute to Cooper but also as a call to destigmatize discussions about mental health and promote compassion. McCoy’s examination of resilience, spirituality, and community offers a framework for understanding the complexities of grief while highlighting the enduring bonds of love that remain beyond tragedy.

Kelly McCoy takes readers deep into his life and emotions to convey the pain of losing a child. Cooper’s unexpected death by suicide intensifies the emotional impact, as there were no clear outward signs that anything was wrong. The vulnerability in McCoy’s writing is raw and honest, and I cried from beginning to end while reading. His reflections balance heartache with hope, drawing from his experiences to craft a story that will move every reader it touches. The photographs throughout the book depict Cooper at different ages, smiling and joyful, reminding us that we can never truly know what lies behind a smile. The intimate reflection of going on with life after the death of a loved one captures the balance between sorrow and the human capacity to find meaning and connection. Endure is a moving and inspiring memoir about love and loss that won’t be forgotten. Thank you, Mr. McCoy, for sharing Cooper’s life and helping others cope with grief.

Losing a loved one is among the most challenging and painful experiences. Whether or not it was expected, even though no one ever really expects death, it is never easy to accept that a person you deeply cherished is no more and that you will never see them or share moments with them again. For many, the grief that follows such a loss may break them, and they may never heal. But then, is there an appropriate period for grieving a loved one? And is there a right way to mourn a loved one? In Endure: A Memoir of Grief, Resilience, and Love, Kelly McCoy, who lost his twenty-three-year-old son to suicide, shares his experiences of navigating the challenging journey of grief, resilience, and raw hope.

Kelly McCoy’s Endure is a must-read for anyone dealing with grief. Using anecdotes and an authentic conversational tone, McCoy gives the feeling of his grief, depicting the emotions involved in a down-to-earth way. I could feel McCoy’s love, pain, profound sadness, and longing for answers. You can tell how much Cooper was loved from all these details, and by looking at the images in the book, he was very much loved by family and friends. Through Cooper’s struggles, McCoy addresses various themes affecting the youth of the current generation, especially boys, which include self-acceptance, conformity pressure, mental health wellness, suicide, and more. Through his very poignant journey of grief, McCoy offers readers the tools to honor loved ones and to live alongside loss with grace, courage, and enduring love.

"Endure reveals the heart of a father learning to live with horrific loss. Through exquisite language and vulnerability, Kelly leads us into the wasteland of his suffering as he recalibrates his life to bear the unbearable. He invites us to consider more than just the agony of grief, but the beauty and the mystery as well. Kelly's fierce commitment to endure Cooper's death with honesty and courage is a gift to all those who have walked or will walk through the darkness of grief." - Elizabeth Leon, bereaved mother of John Paul Raphael, author of the award-winning Let Yourself Be Loved: Big Lessons from a Little Life, Ashburn, VA

"Oh, this is so real and so beautiful. As my family navigates the aftermath of the loss of my 20-year-old son to suicide, your writing has been a torch. Thank you for sharing your pain and your journey. It helps those of us on the path behind you." Pam Kirsch, bereaved mother of Carson, Louisiana

"Kelly's writing captures the unending waves of grief with raw honesty and clarity.
Seventeen years after losing my son Austin to homicide, his words resonate deeply, offering comfort and understanding that fathers, too, can grieve and endure." —Morten Danielsen, bereaved father of Austin, Norway/USA

"I just want to say, I read Kelly's writing, and he has such a gift with words. He puts into words exactly what I've felt for years but couldn't explain or express." —Sara Sumner, bereaved mother of Cass, Kansas

"Kelly, your writing touches the soul of the reader." - Sarah Kelly, bereaved mother of Kameron

A heart wrenching journey through the process of dealing in the aftermath of immense unmeasurable grief after losing his son to suicide. The questioning of why, the feeling of the immense burden now the families to carry and the pure remembrance of a sweet boy turned man; all subjects processed through in this book as the author lays bare his heart for all to see.

Please check it out, share, read, cry and at the end, reach out to those you love and hold them close.

Feel the most inner pain you can imagine in dealing with loss by a parent. Kelly touches both heart and soul in dealing with unexpected loss.

I don’t really do book reviews. It feels a bit awkward to critique the words or the story of how the author chooses to put things in writing…especially a memoir. But what I know is I was compelled to review this book because I felt it with all my heart…As a grieving parent myself of my 11-year-old son, sadly, as Kelly mentions in his book, “When you know, you know.”

This is ultimately a book about love and it is the most devastating of love stories. I can not tell you that you won’t cry…because you will. I cannot tell you that you won’t be afraid and broken alongside this father, because you will. But you will also be filled with so much love that you will absolutely not be able to keep it from exploding out of you into the world. Because even in his grief, this is first and foremost a book about love.

I am honored that Kelly shared his story, his beautiful photos, his love of his son with the world… because it inspires me to love better, to love bigger, and to remember that we just don’t know how long we have to love our precious gifts. And so we should love them the best and the biggest while we can. Kelly’s thoughts on life after life… the inexplicable life that comes after the biggest hurt of all… is healing in a way I never knew. I strongly believe there is a God and a Heaven to look forward to. Even when we think there isn’t. Even when we hurt so big that there seems to be no reprieve from our pain, there is a God of comfort and there is always hope.

What makes this book so powerful and special is it is written from a father’s perspective. In a world where men are told they can’t feel—that they cannot hurt or show emotions, Kelly articulates emotions so unapologetically. And quite frankly in doing so this masterfully, he exemplifies his strength, masculinity, and the greatest of all—unwavering love.

So, if you want to know what love tastes like, go read this book, inhale the love Kelly has for his wife, children, family and friends, and then follow Kelly’s lead and share love with your family and the world.

Kelly somehow conveys the unimaginable in a way that is deeply felt. Anyone experiencing grief, especially those suffering from the loss of a loved one to suicide, can read and know they are not alone. Through his journey of processing the horrific loss of his son Cooper to suicide, Kelly shows readers how to endure the pain, embrace grief, wrestle with it, and ultimately learn to walk with it.

If you have lost a child, especially, but also a brother or sister, or grandchild, this is an excellent book to help navigate the grief process. It's practical, spiritual, honest, raw, and the writing is exceptional. Highly recommended for those going through the loss of their child.

"Heartfelt, emotionally engaging, impressively insightful, deeply personal yet universal in theme and purpose, Endure: A Memoir of Grief, Resilience, and Love by Kelly McCoy is a deftly and candidly crafted memoir of love, loss, and recovery that is unconditionally recommended reading for anyone having to deal with and recover from the tragedy of suicide. Unique, effective, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, community, counseling center, and college/university library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections in general, and to Suicide, Grief, and Bereavement Counseling collections in particular." - James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, Midwest Book Review