Author Allen C. Liles lost his wife Jan to an unexpected heart attack on Feb. 28, 2017. In his new book, "THE FOREVER PENNY: How Our Loved Ones Stay Connected After Death," Rev. Liles reveals what happened soon after his wife passed. He began finding both old and new pennies in various locations. The retired minister believed that the coins were his departed wife's way of reassuring him of her continuing presence. In the grief groups that he attended after his wife's death, other grieving individuals also reported strange phenomena that indicated their departed one's spirit was still near.

THE FOREVER PENNY details the first six months of the retired minister's grief journey that took him from Jan's home state of Minnesota back to his native Texas. The book recounts his daily meditations during which he received wisdom, comfort and guidance from both the still, small voice of God and his dear wife. On the morning after Jan's death, Rev. Liles perceived God telling him "Your wife is here with Me in Heaven and sitting right by my side."

"I needed strong emotional and spiritual support to get through my suffering right after I lost Jan," Rev. Liles noted. "I began each day with more than an hour of prayer and meditation. During my time in the silence, I always felt God and Jan's spirit offering me comfort, direction and support I needed. Although I missed my wife's physical presence, I could tell her spiritual essence was still involved with my life. That feeling helped me get through the sadness and depression of losing our 37-year relationship."

Rev. Liles said he wrote THE FOREVER PENNY for several specific reasons: (1) To offer hope to anyone who feels their connection to a loved one has been severed forever by death; (2) To reaffirm the existence of a benevolent and loving God who wants ongoing involvement in our spiritual journey; and (3) To honor his recently departed wife and their unbreakable bond of love and devotion.