“This is above all a richly human document in the sense that it confronts us with both the height and the depth of what it is to be human in a dark world and helps to put us closer in touch with our own humanness.”
—Frederick Buechner, author of The Sacred Journey
“A book for anyone who has ever hit a bump in the road of life, or needs the words and the wisdom to care for those who have. Andrea Raynor writes in a soothing and beautiful way about the collective experience of loss and grief and the ability to touch the common threads of hope through incredibly difficult times.”
—Lee Woodruff, New York Times bestselling co-author of In an Instant
“Through stories of 9/11 recovery, hospice care, and her own journey of illness, healing, and growth, Reverend Andie recounts with profound presence and mindfulness, a sacred narrative of loss and love, vicissitude and vision, wrenching brokenness and the ultimate return Home.”
—Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub, LCSW, Rabbinic Director, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services/National Center for Jewish Healing
How do you comfort people in the face of unthinkable loss? Rev. Andrea Raynor answers this question with grace and humility in a spiritual guide aimed at interfaith readers coping with death and grieving. After Harvard Divinity School, Raynor served as chaplain at Ground Zero, a stoic duty she considered an honor. Known as “the rolling Rev,” because she tools around on a Vespa, Raynor is a cancer survivor who understands that “trying to force ourselves to find meaning or to see blessing in something horrible can actually curtail the healing process. We need to greive first and foremost. We need to give ourselves and others a wide berth the express sorrow or rage.” Here, she chronicles stories of people who are spiritually resilient in the face of staggering personal loss. “When one has experienced a traumatic event, it takes time to be able to interpret it – transmuting or gleaning meaning from it may take one’s whole life,” says Raynor. “In the case of a cataclysmic event, such as the Holocaust or 9/11, it would be especially cruel to expect such an epiphany, although it is not impossible.” Time helps, however. “We can begin to think about our lives, even the times of tragedy, and suddenly recognize how someone’s act of kindness saved us from despair,” she says. “Or how another’s courage still reminds us of what it is to be human iin an often inhumane world.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Raynor’s firsthand experience as a hospice chaplain and cancer survivor provides an original perspective on a well-worn topic. She uses a collection of personal anecdotes and warm vignettes to remind readers that grief is a human condition. It is through recognizing the inevitability of sorrow that people can relate and connect in meaningful ways to their faith and the everyday world. Far from being heavy-handed, Raynor refuses to rely on simple religious platitudes to make her case. In fact, it is her willingness to explore doubt and the concept of God as something more than a “just in case” insurance policy that builds trust with readers…Raynor’s real-life examples and tender touch make this an appealing and accessible read.
—Deborah Bigelow,The Library Journal