Called such a sad, tough story, but finally so life-affirming, filled with spirit and love by Anne Lamott, this is a raw and intensely affecting memoir by a young priest about loss of a child, its grief and its aftermath, and the hard-won joy that can follow.
Liz Tichenor has taken her newborn son, five weeks old, to the doctor, from a cabin on the shores of Lake Tahoe.
She is sent home with the baby, who is pronounced fine by an Urgent Care physician.
Six hours later their baby dies in their bed.
Less than a year before, Tichenor's mother has jumped from a building and killed herself after a long struggle with alcoholism.
As a very young Episcopal priest, she has to preach the good news, to find faith where there is no hope, but she realizes these terrible parts of her own life will join he.