Book
Review
Title: Disaster
Falls: A Family Story
Author: Stéphane Gerson
ISBN
978-1-101-90669-9
Death
of a child is a tragedy that can alter the life of the family members in
unpredictable ways. The tragedy becomes
even more intense when a parent is involved in it.
The
author of this book lost his eight-year old son, Owen, during a rafting trip on
the Green River. The father and the son
were navigating the rapids using a ‘duck boat’ which met with an accident, “an
unfortunate alignment of circumstances.”
The father was saved and the little boy died. Pain “mixed with regret, bewilderment, disappointment
– and guilt in all guises,” writes the author.
“Guilt for signing the release and letting him board the ducky. Guilt for not bringing Owen home. Guilt for
failing to uncover new memories. Guilt for allowing sorrow to overshadow
Owen....”
The
book is an exercise to deal with the sorrow as well as the guilt feeling. It took a long while for the family to come
to terms with the tragedy. The author
had to come to terms with the tragedy as well as his role in it. He did much research on people who lost a
child and how they dealt with the loss. The
research was extended to related topics such as grief and children, the
Holocaust, and the Green River. The
author is a historian by profession and the book has an academic feel in many
places. However, the agony endured by
the author and the other family members is palpable on every page.
Death
of a child can be a spiritual challenge for the parents. The affliction can be used for personal
growth. That is what the author and his
wife did. The book shows us how they did
it.
Soon
after the loss of his son, the author also lost his father who was suffering
from cancer. The chapters dealing with
the father’s last days make us think about the significance of dying with
dignity.
Disaster Falls
is not merely a book about death and grief.
It is about coping with a personal tragedy and accepting it. It is about
how a personal tragedy can enhance personal growth.
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