Analysis
This is a mother's diary. Her son has progressive muscular dystrophy.
Mother and son, strengthened by courage and Christian faith, supported by the loving community around them, fight against advancing illness. They do everything possible to let the boy live his life as long as he can, as fully and normally as anyone might imagine. The focus falls especially on a determination to remain present to the world—the world of other children, the world of other human beings. And as the physical illness grows inexorably, so too does the life of the spirit, which finally brings a sense of victory—a victory not purchased at too high a price—over death itself.
Critique
Rarely, to our knowledge, has any book conveyed such Christian resonance. This working-class mother hides nothing of her inner sadness, her family struggles, her temptations toward despair.
Yet hope—grounded in a vision both humanly clear-eyed and supernaturally illuminated—proves always the stronger force.
The writing is simple and graceful, accessible to everyone.
What is remarkable is that this difficult book, which ends with the child's condition worsening, nonetheless leaves a profoundly strengthening impression—one that plants an indestructible joy in the reader's heart. We recommend it warmly.
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.