Raoul Wientzen

This is an extraordinary first novel and readers may want to have tissues handy as they read it. The author is a pediatrician and professor of pediatrics at Georgetown University, which at times results in the text being a bit overloaded with medical terms with which the average reader will not be familiar; however, once you get past that the story will consume you. It explores, largely from the view of the child, the challenges, joys, and realities of being and raising a child with severe disabilities. It offers life lessons to anyone who reads it and does not spare the medical, legal, and religious professions as it exposes the shortcomings and hypocrisy of all three. It is a painful and touching story of one family's and one little girl's struggles and love. I highly recommend it. The author is willing and eager to participate in bookclub discussions, either in person or remotely.… (meer)