Stephanie Grace Whitson Jacob’s List

Jacob's List

Bethany House, Aug 2007, $12.99

ISBN 9780764203268

Twenty years old Jacob "Jake" Nolan has drawn up a personal list of ten items he wants to do before he settles down. However, when he dies in an accident, his wealthy parents Pamela and Michael are shattered as they doted on him and he was the prime reason they remained together.

Both grieve differently and separately even when they go on a Hawaiian vacation. Still they have Jake's list and Pamela and Michael would like to complete his quest. Friends try to be there for them and they attend a workshop "How to Help a Grieving Friend" (actually a self-help book written by Ms. Whitson) together. However, as their marriage appears to be on the brink of imploding both knows bad things happen to good people is part of the mystery of God's master plan.

This is an interesting look at grief from the perspective of two parents who cannot turn to one another for solace when a bad thing happens to a loved one. The three prime characters come across as fully developed although Jake is actually seen through the eyes of his parents so the audience extrapolates what the grieving pair hold in common about their son as the most likely truth. Stephanie Grace Whitson provides a well written primer on HOW TO HELP A GRIEVING FRIEND cope through the barely surviving Nolans.

Harriet Klausner