An inspiring tale of a mother’s perseverance and acceptance of her son’s terminal illness.
In this heartfelt memoir, Fournier (Two from Egypt, 1987) details the tragic deterioration of her son, John, who contracted HIV in the 1980s.
John’s fear of his disease drove him to resist any method of care, and he denied himself treatment of any kind. Even more heartbreaking, his mother, Fournier, watched as John retreated from her and his two brothers, Anthony and Jeffrey, and moved from his family home in Northern California to New Mexico. Jeanne’s second husband insisted that John not be brought back to their home, so Fournier followed him to New Mexico, determined to help her recalcitrant son. John, horrified by his mother’s assistance, ran away from his mother, but he found salvation almost despite himself in the arms of an old friend. As John continued to challenge his mother, she encountered many people who guided and supported her, including a nurse, Debbie, who took a particular interest in helping John. Debbie and several others served as guardian angels throughout this ordeal. John’s anger at being brought to hospice caused him to distance himself from Jeanne and led to his responding to her overtures with coldness and apathy. All the while, however, Jeanne continued to see the hand of God in her life, even as her son’s disease threatened to end his life and their relationship continued to fray. Jeanne’s connection to God and spirituality carried her through the thankless and painful task of supporting her son, and when John dies with so much left unresolved, Jeanne found that she could communicate with her son from the “other side,” perhaps even more than when he was alive. This compelling and at times magical account draws together miracles and spiritual insight. Jeanne, despite numerous heart-wrenching challenges, manages to maintain her faith in God. Her story is singular and moving, containing miraculous, uplifting moments.
An inspiring tale of a mother’s perseverance and acceptance of her son’s terminal illness.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1478259831
Page Count: 52
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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