Rochester couple Michael and Gina Spehn’s experience has been called “a real-life ‘Brady Bunch’ story.”

They found one another after each losing a spouse to cancer, merged their families together and learned to love again.

Lending a Hand

Since they came together, Michael and Gina have made it their mission to help other families cope with cancer.

They co-founded the New Day Foundation for Families in 2007, which, in partnership with Beaumont Heath System and with the help of donations, provides financial assistance for young families affected by cancer.

Last September, they held the “Evening Under the Stars” at Meadow Brook Hall to raise money. Combined with the foundation’s annual golf outing, the event brought in over $100,000.

At one golf outing, a man who had recently lost a family member to cancer noticed how happy and hopeful the Spehn children looked. Michael remembers the man coming up to him and saying, “I can’t tell you what this means to me to know [my kids are] going to be okay.”

Seeing positive reactions from other families inspired Michael and Gina to share their unique experience in a dual first person perspective book.

Hope after tragedy

“The Color of Rain”, which hit shelves in 2011, took about a year and a half to write.

“He said to me, ‘you know what the difference between everybody else who says they’re going to write a book and us is? We’re actually going to do it,’” Gina said.

Their book, now a New York Times best-seller, helped further the success of the New Day Foundation for Families.

Michael and Gina signed books, and held a discussion at the Rochester Barnes & Noble on Thursday. A group of friends, family and local fans came to discuss the book and share some of their personal experiences.

The couple talked about how in the midst of loss, people often feel they have to meet a certain expectation of what grief is supposed to look like.

“There’s no doubt about it. Grief will find you. You don’t have to go looking for it,” Michael said.

The Spehns said there is a sense of guilt about laughing too soon after a tragedy, but Michael and Gina insisted that smiling is natural and it is not a dishonor to lost loved ones. People giggle again, and it’s okay.

“Not only do they giggle but they cry and they love again,” Michael said.

Big screen and beyond

In 2011 Michael and Gina appeared on “The Today Show” to discuss their story. The segment caught the eye of producers in L.A. who asked to turn the book into a Hallmark movie.

“The Color of Rain” screenplay is currently being written. Production could begin as early as April.

Michael and Gina said they hope their story helps others find hope.

“It’s to give people that permission and that hope that you can live, and you should,” Gina said.

For more information about the foundation or how to make a donation, visit

www.foundationforfamilies.com