So, naturally, I was intrigued so thought I'd give it a whirl.
It was written over twenty years ago and, apparently, has been a best seller since. The author, Jerry Sitter, at the time it was written, was a professor of religion at Whitworth Collage. He holds a doctorate in history from the University of Chicago.
I have something underlined on almost every page. He starts out telling his story, which, in a nutshell, is this. He was driving a vehicle carrying his wife, his four children, and his mother. A drunk driver ran into them, instantly killing his wife, his youngest child, and his mother. Another child was severely injured.
Nothing in his description is sugar coated. He describes the catastrophic loss that leaves our lives changed forever. Nor does he compare his tragedy to others. He simply lays bare his story, day to day and year to year. There were set backs. For instance, the other driver was eventually acquitted because the prosecutors thought they had a slam-dunk case and they were ill prepared for the defense team.
Here are a couple of quotes:
All people suffer loss. Being alive means suffering loss....But there is a different kind of loss that inevitably occurs in all our lives....This kind of loss has more devastating results, and it is irreversible. Such loss includes terminal illness, disability, divorce, rape, emotional abuse, physical and sexual abuse, chronic unemployment, crushing disappointment, mental illness and untimely death....The results are permanent, the impact incalculable, and the consequences cumulative.
And then I saw two quotes that reminded me of myself in the loss of each of my husbands. First, during the last few years of Ken's slow decline, physically and mentally ...
They also feel resentment, labor under constant exhaustion, worry about money, and wonder about the future.
And then when the author described his wife he was also describing David...
She laughed far more than she cried, and delighted in ordinary life. She was good and guileless to the core of her being.
Needless to say, I love the book.
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