Tears. I shed real tears reading this book: The Ben Ripple. Perhaps I was relating to this mother’s heart. A mother who went through the pain and emotional roller-coaster of her oldest son’s diagnosis, treatment and ultimate death of leukemia.
This story is profoundly heart-wrenching but woven with moments of grace and so much faith.
Lisa Elliott has shared the deepest fears of her heart in this book and takes us on a year-long journey with her family . Just a few pages into this story you will find yourself cheering alongside Ben as he goes through painful chemotherapy, radiation and bone-marrow procedures. It is difficult, especially if you have gone through something similar in your own family. But more than that, Lisa brings a face and a name to cancer and how it can ravage a body and a family. The stresses, exhaustion and questioning are real and raw. You cannot help but be burdened for any family going through something similar.
What struck me was the way this story mirrors my life now, going through a long family separation and wondering what God will do next. Lisa’s family story is written in such a way as to guide anyone struggling with disappointments and heartache through the steps of grieving, managing a household and the needs of everyone plus how to deal with well-intentioned advice givers.
Even if you’re not going through a catastrophic event in your own life, you will find her practical tips helpful when caring for friends and family. These tip pages are singled out with bullet points for what to do or not to and what to say or not say. Very helpful.
This is an easy read. Written in chronological timeline of Lisa’s own prayer journal as well as her Facebook updates. From the first day~Ben’s diagnosis to the last day..figuring out how to move on when your heart is broken and grief-stricken, Lisa shares her faith in Christ and how Ben even until the day he died declared that God’s will was okay for them, whatever it was. This life is just the beginning…there is so much more beyond what we see or know.
Probably the most inspiring , touching story I’ve read in a very long time. This is a must read.
**This book was provided courtesy of Word Alive Press and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available now from your favourite bookseller.
