around the course of more than 25 years, Delilah Rene has been using her calming voice to comfort listeners all around the country. She has also been providing individuals from all walks of life with guidance that is both inspiring and educational.
Over the course of the last several years, the syndicated radio personality and mother of thirteen has experienced a number of instances of tremendous loss and suffering. Her approximately eight million listeners are aware of this fact. Since then, she has published a book titled “One Heart at a Time,” in which she invites readers to accompany her on her journey through the storm.
“[The book] is more about my philosophy on life, which is that you can change the world for the better no matter what you’re going through,” she says in an interview with PEOPLE. According to the author, “I was really challenged to see if I believed that because when I started writing it, life could not possibly be better, and then in the middle of that process, a few chapters in, life could not possibly be worse.”
Zack, Delilah’s son, who was 18 years old at the time of his death, took his own life on October 3, 2017, when the book was already well along. He left behind a message that was very painful, in which he revealed his “pressing madness about feeling like this world was not his home.”
Zack, who was one of her three biological children while the other ten were adopted, suffered from depression that began when he was injured in a car accident, went through a traumatic breakup, and realized that he would not be graduating from high school with his class. Zack was one of her three biological children. His passing was yet another devastating blow to Delilah, who had already suffered the death of her son Sammy, who was 16 years old, due to complications of sickle cell anemia in the year 2012.
“The message that I wanted to share was that that no matter what you’re going through, no matter what your situation is in life, no matter what your economic situation is or your age — you can impact the world for good using that gifts and the talent and the skills that you have,” she says in her book. “It doesn’t matter what you’re going through, what your situation is in life, or what your age is.” My assumption is that I was given the task of digging deep and asking myself, ‘Is it truly true?’ Indeed, that is true; in fact, it is absolutely true.
She continues by saying, “I want both Zack and Sammy’s lives to be a legacy of the love and the goodness that they shared and of their willingness to give of themselves to others.” This is in reference to her kids who have passed away. Both of them have their own distinctive methods of blessing, assisting, and nurturing other people, and the book has a number of anecdotes about those ways.
In addition, Delilah continues to celebrate the lives of Zack and Sammy on a daily basis for the reason that she has a “very big family” and a solid support system. Regarding the manner in which the family maintains the memory of the boys, she adds, “The boys are talked about pretty much as if they’re just in the other room instead of in an eternity.” We all speak about Zack and Sammy as if they are in the other room, while at the same time referring to them as if they are away from us. This includes my younger children as well as my older children.
The author, Delilah Warner, who is 58 years old and has gone through three terrible divorces, which she discusses in the book, has also found solace in her fourth husband, Paul Warner, whom she married in 2012 and describes as “very, very supportive.” According to Delilah, “it works for us” despite the fact that the pair lives in a non-traditional living scenario together, which involves them living six and a half hours apart owing to their employment.
According to her, “My husband has five children of his own who are grown and the majority of them are married and have their own lives and careers, so he was kind of done raising children when we met. Despite this, he loves my children very much and is extremely supportive,” she adds. For a considerable amount of time, I have been a single parent, and one of my primary interests is the process of bringing up my children. He would never be able to stop me or prevent me from doing it, despite the fact that it is not necessarily his passion.
She goes on to say, “I am the parent who enjoys being a parent, who enjoys going to school activities, who enjoys going to soccer games, and who enjoys making costumes.”
Delilah claims that it is experiences such as these that have helped her become “better, stronger, and more compassionate.” She said that she has grown this way as a result of dealing with death, having difficulties with her own parents, and having failed marriages.
According to her, “I believe that personal and spiritual growth does not typically occur during times of prosperity; rather, it is typically a result of the challenges and difficulties that one faces.” According to the author, “We need to stop viewing pain as something that should be avoided at all costs and instead embrace those struggles and realize that it is through those struggles that our personalities, our consciousness, our hearts, and our capacity to love are expanded.”