Lara Antal

The father of a terminally ill infant offers a devastating look at the unthinkable.

It's the sort of book my wife looks at aghast and asks, "Why would you read that?" If she had been raised Catholic like me, I imagine she would also toss in a sign of the cross. And, yeah, it's brutal, but it's also a powerful means to ignite compassion and introspection.

Ronan's mother seems a very strong and interesting woman, and I had lingering thoughts about her side of the story as I read Louis' account. It turns out I do not need to wonder as she is memoirist who has published under the names Emily Rapp and Emily Rapp Black. Her books The Still Point of the Turning World and Sanctuary cover Ronan's life and its aftermath. I'm not sure I'll read them, but my library has both, and I'm going to check out the first and flip through it.… (more)