I enjoy Buechner’s writing. In this book, however, I found there were times that it felt that he was rambling, and I was unsure where he was going or if there was a point to the narrative. There are some great nuggets of insight hidden throughout. Maybe I was just not patient enough to ferret them out.

This book surprised me a bit. I was expecting a general discussion principally about God, with references about the comfort given by faith. What I got was a very personal journey into the losses Buechner has experienced. N0t so much coming to terms with those in his family who have died as presenting them in all their humanity, Buechner invites the reader to take part in his struggle. It's not a book where pat, easy answers are given. It's about the grace which is life, the complicated people which are his family, and the hidden treasures available to us even in times of loss and sadness. I would easily recommend this book to someone coping with grief. The material has been largely available in other publications, but its assembly here amounts to a unique and highly valuable experience.

Buechner has written yet another fine memoir, this time facing the very thing so many of us seek to avoid: pain. Life is often filled with loss, grief, heartache, and Buechner tells of his own, inviting us to explore our memories and to find in them not only meaning, but hope. His stories focus primarily upon his family, the loss of his dad, the death of his brother, the difficult relationship with his mother. Rather than keeping such memories tucked away and hidden from view, he brings them in to the light, allowing them to breathe, to emerge, and to do their work.