An Unseen Angel Reflection 1

Alexis Dailey

Dr. Harris

Parent and Family Conferencing

4 April 2018
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Abstract

An Unseen Angel by Alissa Parker is a saddening story to start off but puts a different

perspective on how to get through these tough times. The Parker family has shown their

perseverance and faith in God which in the end got them through that. Children are gifts of God

and this is clearly shown in this book. Reliance in this faith is the basis in all of the life and

reliance during the Sandy Hook fatalities.

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The love a parent has for a child in undeniable and everlasting. Not one person can

understand this until they have a child of their own. A child is someone a parent will love,

cherish, and protect through thick and thin. A parent will go to the end of the world for their

child and put them first always. Now imagine that child being suddenly taken away from that

parent. No warning at all, not even an opportunity to say goodbye. This missing feeling is almost

like a piece of them is lost and they are looking to get that back, but are unable to. This feeling is

truly one that only the parents going through this can understand. A feeling that should never be

felt. The Parker family knows this feeling all too well. It is like a constant missing piece in their

puzzle. The oldest and leader to their trio of little girls is gone. An Unseen Angel by Alissa

Parker is a spiritual book, written by the mother, that goes through the journey her and her family

of “faith, hope, and healing” (Parker) has after the loss of their daughter Emilie in the Sandy

Hook shooting.

The Parker family consisted of a mother, a father, and three young daughters named

Emilie, Samantha, and Madeline. These three young girls were inseparable. Emilie was the

oldest and the leader of their little group. Alissa Parker explained how Samantha and Madeline

looked up to Emilie for everything. This is what made the death of Emilie that much harder. An

Unseen Angel is not just about the death of Emilie and the shooting at Sandy Hook. It is also

about the journey that the Parker family went through before and after that terrible event. Before

the Sandy Hook event, the family was doing well until a terrible bike accident occurred that

Alissa Parker’s father was in. There were many struggles with his care to this injury and

ultimately ended in him dying. This was an event that Alissa was horribly upset about and with

reason. There was a lot of not understanding after this event. It seemed like it could not get much
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worse until it did. After Sandy Hook, the Parker family was going through the healing phases of

the loss. Alissa Parker was able to make more connections with people than she would ever have

thought. People were going above and beyond to help the families who were effected by a loss in

Sandy Hook. New connections were made going through the same pain that they felt with their

own loss. Lastly and most important was their reliance on faith. This is what truly got Alissa and

her family through this event. Emilie’s presence was continued to be made and validated their

faith even more. This book explained that God is always present and has some type of plan.

Classroom discussions have a direct correlation of the book An Unseen Angel. One of the

main points early in the book that stuck out to me was the involvement of Emilie’s teacher at her

Consolidated School. Mrs. Brown was Emilie’s teacher that really had taken an interest in her.

She truly cared about Emilie and told Alissa that on many occasions. Even though Emilie was

not at this school for a long period of time, she still left a huge impact on Emilie and her family.

She knew that Emilie had something special and would do anything she had put her mind to.

This is a special trait that Mrs. Brown has. She took an interest in her students and truly got to

know them. She made every child feel special to the point where they were going home and

telling their parents. That is something special and a trait that I will be sure to have, especially

after reading this book.

Catholic Social Teaching was another point that truly came to mind in this book. One

theme that came to my mind immediately was call to family, community, and participation. This

became clear right after the Sandy Hook shooting occurred. The community came together as

one and truly had each other’s backs. The Parker family did not have the money to pay for

Emilie’s funeral. There were other expenses that they could not get away from. They did not

know what to do until they were informed that the funeral would be free of cost to them. The
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local funeral homes were not charging them a thing. That is a community having the backs of

others and helping them out through this tough time. Another example is how the community

came together to fill oil in the Parker’s house because they were in need of it. This was not even

asked it was just done. Families were also giving food to help the family as well. This is a prime

example of Catholic Social Teaching. The community came together and helped out the hurting

families to get through this difficult time. This connection became strengthened through this

horrific event. Another teaching I found with this book is Life and Dignity of the Human Person.

Each person’s life must be respected and celebrated. Each of those children were a child of God

who is cherished and respected. Their lives served a purpose on this Earth.

As a future educator, my heart hurt throughout this book. Listening to the life of Emilie

and how much she had going for her at such a young age made me hurt. It also made me want to

make lasting impressions on my students. I want my students to know how much I care for them

and that school is a safe place. I will take a true interest in these children as Mrs. Brown did for

Emilie. Mrs. Brown is a teacher that Emilie constantly talked about. That is the impression I

want to place on my students. It is important to not just know the student but the family as well.

Parents/guardians should feel comfortable with their children being with their educator. Sending

short notes home and promoting that social connection is what is much needed. All families and

children are appreciated and need to be known that. My goal is to generate this in the classroom.

I want my students to feel the overwhelming love I have for all of them. Positive family

relationships start from the teacher and I am determined to start the school year working with

that. Students will always know just how much they are loved in my classroom.

The journey of the Parker family was incredible. Reading An Unseen Angel really opened

my eyes as to how strong these families are. They have gone through the unthinkable. But how
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they got through this was faith. They needed to trust in God that he has a purpose and plan for

this it just might not be clear at that moment. The braveness of the Parker family is something I

admire. Alissa Parker took her negative situations and got through it. She leaned on her family

and made it through an event that is unimaginable. The only way through this is in trusting God.
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References

Parker, A. (2017). An Unseen Angel: A Mothers Story of faith, Hope, and Healing After Sandy

Hook. Salt Lake City, UT: Ensign Peak.