News Details

It was Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25, 2010. Mary T Heffron deBrueys and her husband Jim were in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the LSU Tigers would take on the Razorbacks that Saturday afternoon. The excitement and anticipation of an SEC football showdown came to a crashing halt with a telephone call and the unfathomable news that their son James was one of five people on a boat that had gone missing while en route to the main island of the Marshall Islands chain. 

Ten years later, Mary T published a book, Jambos with James, in memory of her son who died a month before his 23rd birthday. Having just graduated from LSU, James was a volunteer with WorldTeach and was teaching English to impoverished children living on a remote island atoll called Arno in the village of Bikarej. 

Jambos with James (Friesen Press) is a collection of pictures, stories and letters James wrote to family and friends from the Marshall Islands. A prolific writer, James’ letters are funny, loving, observant and kind, giving readers an intimate look at a young man determined to make a difference in the world. Jambos is the Marshallese word for walks, which James enjoyed with his students and island family. 

“Writing Jambos with James has been cathartic and has helped provide a sense of peace,” Mary T said. “I continue to feel that way every day, although the emotionality of it all can catch me at any time. I also find myself every day reminded of the gratitude that I have for life and for people here who surround us and hold us up. Both Jim and I would tell you without hesitation that faith and our strong belief in the Communion of Saints is the only way we know to begin to try to understand such a painful and surreal loss.”

The book made the Friesen Press bestseller’s list in its first month of publication. “The response has been overwhelming, as many family members and friends – including classmates and schoolmates from SJA – have responded by purchasing the book and by giving me positive, encouraging and kind feedback,” Mary T said.

Born in Victoria, Texas, Mary T moved to Baton Rouge as a youngster and attended Country Day School, St. Aloysius, St. Joseph’s Academy and LSU. She earned a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology in 1976 and a master of communication disorders from the LSU Medical Center in New Orleans in 1977.

Mary T and Jim have been married for 43 years. They raised five children and have six grandchildren. She is the founder and director of Peer+Plus, a diagnostic and tutorial service in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Peer+Plus provides workshops and presentations to faculties, students and parents as well as tutorial and study skill remediation for students of all ages in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas. She is the co-author of LinguiSystems: 125 Ways to Be a Better Student, a study skills book. 

Mary T is a member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church where she serves as a eucharistic minister. She facilitates a grief group, Cracked Pots … Blessed & Broken, for mothers who have lost adult children. She also presents to audiences on dealing with grief from a faith perspective. 

Jambos with James is listed with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Visit jamboswithjames.com for additional information. 

Mindy Brodhead Averitt
Communications Director