Wow, get some tissues ready for this book, This is a beautiful book about love, pure and simple. Love in it's purest, most precious form. I have so much respect and awe for people who like Cori can open their hearts up knowing they will be broken, but do it anyway out of pure, self sacrificing Godly love. Absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking and inspirational all together in one well written package. I give 5 stars to books that completely capture me, leave me with a feeling that I just experienced something remarkable and memorable, this book is definitely a 5 star!

I had some hesitation about this book because I am not a religious person (although I do have spiritual beliefs). I didn’t want to be inundated with “bible-thumping “. Not to worry. This book has so much to offer on emotional and humanitarian levels that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is both moving and uplifting. I highly recommend it for anyone not afraid to have a truly emotional experience.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

If you need a good spiritual kick in the pants, then this book is definitely a must read! This book illustrates how amazingly well God can work in us and through us if only we have faith enough to let Him. Wonderful book!

The death of a sweet baby is a life shattering ordeal, but Cori Salchert’ and Marianne Hering's story respectfully addresses loss. The love is selfless, and the giving nature throughout the book is touching. Cori wraps the reader with comfort through her written word.

This story shows how God guides us through hard times. This story is not sad like I thought, but uplifting. This book touched my heart, and reminded me of the strength we gain through faith.

The author grabbed my heart from the first page, and kept me immersed throughout the book. I highly recommend this true story. I Will Love You Forever changed me… and made me take a hard look within.

A touching account of one family's journey through caring for children who are terminally ill. This book reminds us that no matter what their circumstances are, children need love. And this family, folloed God's call to love "the least of these".

This book will both break your heart, and mend it again; make you cry and then smile for the hope and love that we all have through Christ. There is so much goodness and beauty in the world, and sometimes the best way to see this is through loss and redemption. Highly recommended.

I first saw Cori Salchert and her family featured on television. That they would open their home to to infants destined to die was amazing. When I found out that they lived in a community less than two hours from Wisconsin home, I knew I wanted to learn the full story. Naturally, my ears picked that a book was in the works. When I found that Barbour Publishing/Shiloh and Netgalley were offering an opportunity to review the title, I was all in.

Cori Salchert's story is a complicated one. Saddled with her own illusive health problems for years (autoimmune issues), Cori worked as a nurse, spending time in the NICU and then became a grief counselor for parents who experienced miscarriages, stillbirths, and death of an infant. Meanwhile she and her husband were raising a large family in the Lake Michigan community of Sheboygan. A lengthy episode of health problems led to the elimination of her job, mental health problems, and huge medical expenses. Buried beneath all this was another unhealed wound - the relationship that Cori never had with her disabled younger sister who died a tragic death. Cori, with God's help, finds a way to use this hurt as a way to love the youngsters that will otherwise know no love. Emmalyn is the first; born with only a partially developed brain stem and no other brain, the tiny infant had been left in the NICU to await her death. Sure her needs were met, but no extraordinary effort would be made to keep her alive, and an overworked hospital staff did not spend time holding her or singing to her or any such bonding behavior. Having had all responsibility of her care turned over to the state, Emmalyn was simply a body waiting to expire. Cori and her family are given foster parent status and can take the tiny blind girl home, complete with oxygen, feeding tubes, and necessary medical gear. Why and how the family chooses to love Emmalyn will affirm that angels exist. That they become so attached that they feel that their hearts are broken when Emmalyn breathes her last, yet takes the challenge again, and then again shows how much a heart can grow. God has called us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He does not say that we should only love those who are already loved. He does not call us to love the ones who can love back. He does not say that they need to be able to see, to hear, to walk. He does not say that they even need to be able to breathe on their own or to understand what love is. God simply tells us to love. Cori, her husband and her children understand that message. Cori Salchert has written this book with Marianne Hering. Like many autobiographical books written by people who never expected to tell their stories, I found the writing a bit uneven and spotty (for example, the family has 8 biological children but we never meet all of them, and the cover says she is the mother of 15. Is that counting all the foster children as their own? I know they adopted one boy, but have they adopted others? When I read autobiographic books, I like the information to be clear and complete. As I mentioned before I received a copy of this title from Barbour and Netgalley. I was not required to write a review. All opinions are mine.

This book is both so uplifting and so sad at the same time. Read only with a box of tissues nearby! This family is amazing in how they take care of ill children, and will give a different viewpoint to people who read this book.

I Will Love You Forever, by Cori Slachert with Marianne Hering, is an amazingly powerful book that reflects the heart of God and tells of the hope we have of trusting Him in the scariness of the unknown, in fact, in all our circumstances, even the hopeless ones. The author shares her vulnerability and illustrates how God has redeemed the losses she has experienced in her sometimes messy life. In a very real and honest, sometimes humorous manner the author shares her life with readers--the devastating loss of her sister at a young age, the debilitating long-term health problems and the depths of despair that she endured. The book is not for the faint of heart regarding medical issues and yet it is a wonderful testimony to the emotional and physical healing that only God can bring. Throughout the book, Cori tells how she found comfort through scriptures, songs, and sermons, as well as examples of other individuals who have experienced difficult situations in her and her husband's lives. Recognizing there were no simple fixes, the answers to their often desperate prayers were often multifaceted. One thing that is evident is that as Cori has come through the challenges of her life and has begun to foster hospice babies, she has come to more fully understand that God is in control and is accomplishing His will, whether it is in her own life, her children's lives or the lives of the foster babies she cares for. I Will Love You Forever is a book that could be read multiple times as there is much wisdom to glean and principles from God's Word on which to meditate and begin to incorporate in one's life. It is a book to share with others, with those who need to know there is a hope, a hope in God because He is faithful, He is there and He can be trusted. Quoting from Holocaust survivor, Corrie ten Boom, "never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Cori Salchert has more physical ailments than most people could dream of, in a very bad nightmare. As a result, she cannot do her regular job so decides instead to help babies who are dying of terminal illnesses. With eight children of their own, Cori convinces her family that this is something that they can and should do. The first baby that they decide to help is Emmalynn, a small baby that cannot function on her own because her brain was not fully formed before birth. With the full knowledge that this child will die in their care, Cori is determined that this child will know love as she passes into eternity, that she will not die alone. This is not only a commitment of time; it is a commitment of love and of the heart. This poignant story is told with all of the realistic details that reach out and grab the reader, making one want to help the family love this child. But the story doesn’t stop with Emmalynn. Cori has her mind established on helping one child after another, all of whom are going to die. The children cannot be healed, but Cori’s heart that has suffered rejection her entire life can be touched and healed and the process though which this takes place is charming and inspirational. The reader will cheer for Cori and her family while reading in awe the story of a woman who has to overcome so many physical obstacles in order to be able to help the “least of these.”

To say I enjoyed Cori Salchert’s story might sound inappropriate, seeing as it embraces the loss of precious babies’ lives, but this book holds so much love, respect, and selflessness that I appreciate so much. What a sweet book, and what a sweet and giving heart.

I truly thought this book would be sad, and it is, but it’s wrapped in so much love and joy that it’s far from a depressing read. Ms. Salchert’s HALO heart is truly unique, and a great testament to the difference God’s love, mercy, and many blessings make in a life.

I am so inspired and uplifted. Each of use holds talents and gifts, given to us by our Creator, and if we are obedient and true to Him, He will direct our paths and fulfill our hearts.

I highly recommend this book. I was totally immersed from the first page, and found it difficult to put down. I Will Love You Forever is a hope-filled, inspiring, and uplifting true story.

5 Stars


Cover: Love
Title: Love
Pages: 256
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press
First Line: The first time I laid eyes on the unnamed baby girl, I fell in love.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing (and NetGalley) and was under no obligation to post a review.

I'm from the same town as the Salcherts, so I've known of them and their palliative care for babies, which is why I was so excited to read this book. Our family also has a heart for orphans and at-risk children. What I didn't know was that it would delve so deep into Cori's past and all of the background and extra struggle she and their family has been through. It was such a beautifully written book, I truly didn't want to put it down. For me, it was extra special because a lot of the health struggles she's had are very similar to what I'm currently going through and it gives me hope. Not just because she came through it, but because God was with her through it all and even though I know it is also true for me, sometimes it's easy to start thinking otherwise. I highly recommend this book. It weaves in and out of Cori's past and present with old hymn lyrics along with scripture to make a beautiful life tapestry that speaks truth but isn't "preachy".

This book was amazing! I went into it expecting just a collection of stories about Cori's experiences fostering hospice babies, but it was so much more. It begins with the story of caring for Emmalynn, their first hospice baby. That was such a touching story in itself. Then it takes a turn to Cori's childhood and her own special needs sister who died a tragic death, then veers to Cori's physical and mental health challenges, as well as the health challenges of her children. I was rooting for Cori throughout the book and loved reading about her life and how she's overcome so many struggles. She shares a lot of great insight, Scriptures, hymns, and more for anyone going through struggles. I literally sat down and read this entire book in a couple of hours - I couldn't stop reading. Highly recommended!