Writing Looking Back-Looking Forward was the way Ralph dealt with the profound grief a parent has when one of their children is murdered. It is, as the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children describes it, "A grief like no other." The poetry in the book is divided into six sections, representing the various stages of grief one experiences when they lose a child. Those stages listed are Grief and Loss, Despair and Denial, Questioning, Observations, Rage, and Acceptance and Realization. Writing, or expressing his grief through writing, along with reaching out to help others who suffer the loss of a child due to murder, was the motivating force that helped him to survive that ordeal-that, and his strong belief in God, as well as being a Christian.