For The Love of Ryan : Whay Hean Had to Wait

Rating:
Summary: For the Love of Ryan: Why Heaven Had to Wait
Review: This is, without a doubt, one of the most convicting, beautiful, touching, troubling, heart-wrenching, wonderful, tear-jerking, soul-filled books I have ever had the great privilege to read. But least I stand before false colors, I couldn't read it one sitting. I just couldn't handle the spiritual and emotional assault it handed me page after page. Typically, I would read a chapter or two or three, depending on how much I could take, or what kind of shape my tear ducts were in, and then put the book down only to return later and do it all over again.

The one word I would use that best describes this book to me is "raw." It is not so much a story as it is a diary containing the deepest thoughts and prayers of a mother whose child had been run down on his new bike by a drunk driver in the summer of 1984. It was a hit and run that left her husband injured as well, but he quickly recovered to join her on an eight and one half year journey that is the absolute proof that God is alive and well in the world and that He is in charge and will help direct your life if you'll only ask Him.

Eubank shares the many Scriptures that she clung to during her journey with Ryan through comas and seizures, learning how to understand his nonverbal communication and deal with the cruelty of people who would stare at him in his wheelchair. "How dare you take him out in public?" one completely ignorant man challenged her in the Carlsbad, California, mall, where she had taken Ryan to find stimulation for his severely damaged brain. One the other side of the coin, however, were the beautiful people who shared their lives and talents to work with the family and with Ryan. Nurses, therapists, doctors, relatives and friends from church did their best to help the family care for Ryan at home and bring some sense of "normalcy" to his little brother.

The beauty in this book from Vision Publishing is found in its simplicity. The language is straight from a mother's heart with no attempt to do anything other than to share the reality that parents should never have to bury their children.

There is a depth to this book that is hard to define, a beauty difficult to describe. The way Eubank explains the way she was able to communicate with her son and hear the still small voice of her Lord was riveting. I can honestly say this is a book that I will never forget and one that every parent should read. Some books leave an imprint on your mind. This is a book about a little boy and his mom that will leave an indelible mark on your heart, one that you'll never, ever want to go away.

[This review by Paul McShane was taken from the October 2004 issue of Good News, etc.]