Thank you Netgalley and Simon Kids for the gifted book!
by: Amy Makechnie
rating: really liked
It takes a lot to make me cry in a book, but this book made me cry more than once. It is so touching and sincere and yet full of love and hope. Golden's dad has been diagnosed with ALS and along with his three sisters and their mom, the Maroni family is learning to cope with all the changes this means for their family. Golden struggles to accept that the outcome of this disease is inevitable, and as a result is struggling in his friendships, in school, and even in his favorite thing, soccer. Full of fun sports scenes, some beautiful pictures of friendship, and some very vulnerable depictions of family life, this book is one I will recommend over and over.
In the same vein, the whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking about the blog of a man who was the father of a friend of mine from college. Bill was diagnosed with ALS in 1996 and given an estimate of 3-5 more years to live. He passed away in December of 2020. That is 24 years of living with a failing body. He shocked everyone by living so long and he did not let the disease stop him. He kept a blog at unshakeablehope.com where he wrote beautiful blogs to encourage others. I have yet to go through the blog and not cry in the many years I have been reading it. If you want to be encouraged, go and read the words of Bill who loved Jesus and was so excited to finally get to go be with him after many years being trapped in his body.
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