The Long Goodbye REVIEWED

I read and reviewed Kara Tippett’s book The Hardest Peace in October of 2014.  To see this documentary become a reality is both transformational in its power, and profoundly sad in the loss it represents.  But the sadness, although I know the Tippett’s family will walk in a measure of this all of their days, I know the reality of what God can and does do for families impacted by illness and chronic disease.

I am a member of a family that was born out of this type of loss.  My Dad buried his first wife at the tender age of 25 – a melanoma metastasized to the brain – and was a single Dad to two very young children before he was 30 years old.  Now, my parents have celebrated more than 55 years of marriage, and I’m the first of two children from that marriage – a blended family that now overflows with grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I have seen my Mom put flowers on the grave of Dad’s first wife as recently as this past Christmas.  I can’t fully fathom this type of love.  I know this is the legacy that Kara Tippetts left behind for her family and friends.  Her books bear testament of God’s power, grace and faithfulness through some of life’s darkest moments.  The bravery to be so transparent though this entire journey amazes me, but I’m so incredibly grateful for the Tippetts family for sharing this with us.

For the believer, death is still a sad, dark valley to walk through, and yet the hope that we have through Christ does, indeed, take away the crippling pain of eternal separation.  To view this film encourages me not to waste a moment of life – to live every day to its fullest – and love those who share my life better and more transparently.  This film left me feeling hopeful instead of sad, and I think that is what Kara would want. 

This is a great testimony of God’s power and grace found in the moments they are needed most.  He is faithful!  So incredibly faithful!!

Best-selling Documentary THE LONG GOODBYE: THE KARA TIPPETTS STORY Launches on Netflix June 23rd

“The impact of her life was huge. I’m blessed to know her.” - Joanna Gaines

Los Angeles, CA - THE LONG GOODBYE: The Kara Tippetts Story, a heartfelt story a woman thrust into the national spotlight through a terminal cancer diagnosis, will be available on Netflix Sunday, June 23. The film spent time at the #1 spot on the Amazon Documentaries chart, and remained in the Top 10 for over 6 weeks after it’s release.    Kara Tippetts was a pastor’s wife, mother of four young children, and creator of a popular mommy-blog focused on parenting with kindness. Kara already had a loyal following when, at just 38 years old, she began facing and processing a cancer diagnosis on the site. Her blog and subsequent best-selling books became hallowed ground as people around the world were touched by her faith, honesty, and candor.    With this incredibly raw documentary, Kara allowed the world to walk with her as she chronicled first what it meant to be a young wife and mother battling a disease, and then ultimately what it meant to live and die with love and dignity.   Shot in real-time and featuring Kara’s own vlogs and cell phone videos, this film offers an intimate, vulnerable look into a dying woman’s last days. The film also features Kara’s friends-including Ann Voskamp, Joanna Gaines, Ellie Holcomb, President of Focus on the FamilyJim Daly, Dianne Derby from KKTV, and bonus features with Joni Eareckson Tada.       During her journey with cancer, Kara wrote and published three books, includin g Just Show Up: The Dance of Walking Through Suffering Together, And It was Beautiful: Celebrating Life in the Midst of the Long Good-Bye and The Hardest Peace: Expecting Grace in the Midst of Life’s Hard, which won the 2015 ECPA Inspirational Book of the Year award.    Additionally, Kara was thrust into the spotlight when a letter she penned to Brittany Maynard went viral.  In the letter, Kara asked Brittany to reconsider her choice to move to Oregon to participate in an assisted suicide. Kara’s was a gentle, hope-filled message that could only be shared between two young women whose lives would end too soon.    Kara’s vulnerability had an incredible impact on tens of thousands of people and grew that community of support in surprising ways.  Faith influencers from around the globe began to find ways to assist Kara by sharing her posts, sending personal messages, serving the family’s needs, as well as just becoming her friend.     This included filmmakers Jay and Sofia Lyons, who discovered Kara’s story through a facebook note from a friend. The couple simply felt led to do something for her. Sofia states how God led them down a path to create the film by a series of ‘breadcrumbs’, “First, we just wanted to do something special for Kara and her family. This evolved into creating a 7-minute video about her life, which ultimately opened up a conversation about fully documenting her last few months on earth.”   THE LONG GOODBYE also showcases footage from a house concert performed by Ellie Holcomb, a new arrangement of one of Kara’s favorite hymns by Selah, and an original song by Travis Cottrell. Additionally, one of the filmmakers, Sofia J., contributes 2 original songs written for the film including “I’ll See You Again.”    In association with Freely, THE LONG GOODBYE: The Kara Tippetts Story was created by Jay Lyons Productions and is distributed through Ocean Avenue Entertainment.  THE LONG GOODBYE will be available June 23 on Netflix. http://karatippettsdocumentary.com/   About Ocean Avenue Entertainment:  Ocean Avenue Entertainment, Inc. is the destination for productions that offer hope to audiences looking for inspiration in entertainment. Ocean Avenue is committed to releasing inspiring and redemptive films and television programming. Its distribution strategy optimizes each release platform to find the widest possible audience theatrically on VOD, DVD and ultimately on streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime. For more information, please visitwww.oceanave.tv.    About Freely: Freely specializes in projects that touch the human spirit.  Freely is building content across all platforms including film, TV, live events, digital media, and has recently launched a talent management division. www.freely.com   About Jay Lyons Productions: Jay Lyons Productions is a boutique production company specializing in creating soul-stirring content for television, film, and digital media.  JLP has produced for most major networks, including MTV, CBS, TLC, NBC, Spotify, and Discovery. www.jaylyonsproductions.com