Letters for Lizzie: A Story of Love, Friendship, and a Battle for Life - Softcover

The book is about a woman I love, and it's about me. It’s also about our real, though imperfect, faith in God. A faith big enough to cause us to risk all that was familiar to us - money, friends, nearness to family -- and move from Boston to a little town in Indiana.

Yet once in Indiana, Lizzie’s life came under savage attack, first from a terminal cancer diagnosis, then from end-stage heart failure. And as Lizzie suffered, my mighty faith began to sway. What had we missed in leaving the East to serve others? Why was God so angry with us?

As Lizzie's crises deepen, my simple trust that God would never let me down began to give way to dread and fear that perhaps -- just perhaps -- I'd misunderstood who God is.

Indiana brought us wonderful gifts of new friends and a caring community. But our faith was tested mightily. Ultimately, we found God sustained us: God was there with us in the shadows and darkness. But, even knowing that, God still seemed absent for long periods of time. Grace was given, yes. But not always at the time, or in the way, Lizzie or I had thought.

In the finished book, each of the 13 original letters is preceded by a brief reflection, looking back from 2003, on thoughts and emotions not included in the original letter.

The resulting book is an intimate, honest, and vulnerable true story of the dangers life can pose. It is a book of struggle and, ultimately, of hope that, I trust will be a gift to any who suffer.