This e-mail to Ms. Urie from her son, Ryan, filled her with a warm glow and contributed to the title of her book, More Than Tears; Lifting the Burden of Grief. Her reason for sharing her story of recovery was to do exactly that; help lift the horrible burden from the shoulders of those who are grieving. How gratifying it was to know her words had helped her own child.
Ms. Urie won her first writing competition, Idaho State's Hire the Handicapped, when she was in high school. She didn't pursue a writing career, however, until after the sudden death of her son, Sean. Shortly after the tragic event, she began writing letters to him pouring out her heart and pleading with him to let her know that he was okay. After many letters and prayers, she came to realize that it was her mission in life to provide a road map for others who would, unfortunately, have to take the same journey.
During the time she was writing her book, she also published a United Methodist newsletter and wrote articles for local publications. She currently writes a monthly article on grieving for the Hagerman Valley Fish Wrap (Hagerman Valley is located on the Snake River and is the worlds largest producer of trout; hence, the newspapers title.) She was featured in a special edition of the Northside News under the title Self-Help Writing Becomes Career Opportunity.
Ms. Urie served as president of the Twin Falls Chapter of the Idaho Writers League for several years and has won numerous awards for essays and short stories in their annual statewide contests. She won second place in the Jackpot, Nevada, Carl Hayden Writing Contest and first place in the 2000 Writers Digest Short Story Competition. Several of her stories have appeared in the Compassionate Friends and Friends of Bereaved Families newsletters and she has presented programs to these groups on Writing to Recovery.
Since reading has always been an important part of her life, she served for many years as chairperson on the board of the Hagerman Public Library, Idaho State Library of the Year for 2005.
Her son, Ryan, became a National Merit Scholar and was awarded a four-year scholarship at Albertson College of Idaho, a private liberal arts college. He double majored and graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2004. He is now pursuing his masters degree at the University of Idaho.
Ms. Urie and her husband, Leonn, have a speciality contracting business that keeps them busy in the summer, but they have joined the snowbirds and spend their winters on a small acreage they own in southern Arizona. While there, she enjoys
traveling, four-wheeling, reading, writing and taking long walks with her Yorkshire Terrier, Zig Zag.
