This book opens with a long cry of rebellion. Job himself is judged for surrendering too easily. The author cannot accept the misfortune that has struck her mentally handicapped daughter and experiences her existence as entirely negative. How many parents will recognize themselves in these feelings—ones they hardly dare confess even to themselves?
Yet slowly, in this darkness, a light emerges. It brings the possibility of discovering meaning in suffering, the hidden riches in a person whose true treasure remains intact beyond all limitation, and the presence of a God who shares our pain and proves victorious over every evil. This discovery is made possible by faithful and understanding friends and by the welcome of a Faith and Light community.
The author then returns to the book of Job with new eyes. The final words of this tried mother will be given over to Hope.
We can only rejoice at the "counterpoint" that follows—written by the sister of this young mentally handicapped woman. She describes her own discovery, though she has not yet arrived at her mother's clarity. Yet she declares that the door remains open and does not rule out that the path her parents have traced may one day lead her to the same light.
- Henri Bissonnier, 1992