Summer Reading

Like most moms, I never have enough time to read for pleasure. But this summer I have squeezed in two books: Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back and Room: A Novel. Have you read either of these? I plucked them off the NY Times Bestseller list and they both great reads. Heaven is For Real Heaven is a father's true story of his four year old son who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and (supposedly) enters heaven. The child survives the surgery and after recovering starts to tell his mother and father (who is a pastor) about meeting Jesus and seeing the family's departed relatives--including uncanny details that the child would have no other way of knowing. If it sounds very John Edwards-esque to you, well, it is. But it is also convincing in many ways.

I would especially love to hear from any of you who also read The Room. I read this book in 2 sittings--something which I rarely do. I was hooked from the first scene because the narrator (a boy named Jack) was celebrating his 5th birthday--just like my son did last week. Jack is a typical kid but he has lived his whole life in a tiny single room. And as you read how he and his devoted mother spend every day, every week, every month, and every year, you will slowly learn why and will be riveted as you see how the mother tries to open up Jack's world. It is a story that is at once disturbing and tragic, yet ultimately hopeful. And if you are the mother of a young child I guarantee it will give you lots of food for thought (and reasons to be very grateful for your own life).

Both Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back and Room: A Novel are on sale at Amazon for about $9.