Only Spring: On Mourning the Death of My Son - Softcover

Livingston MD, Gordon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1569246599 ISBN 13: 9781569246597

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books, 1999

Synopsis

The loss of a child is every parent's worst fear. Gordon Livingston survived that tragedy not once but twice, in successive years. Only Spring, crafted from his journal, traces his son Lucas's courageous battle with leukemia, his extraordinary gift of love, and Livingston's own cycle of faith lost and hope regained. This edition includes a new epilogue by the author.

About this title

About the Author:

GORDON LIVINGSTON, M.D., a graduate of West Point and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, has been a physician since 1967. He is a psychiatrist and writer who contributes frequently to the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Baltimore Sun, and Reader's Digest. Awarded the Bronze Star for valor in Vietnam, he is also the author of Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart. He lives and works in Columbia, Maryland.

Review:

A poignant account of an anguishing life-changing experience -- Publishers Weekly

An enduring monument to his beloved son--and a permanent addition to the literature of mourning. -- San Francisco Examiner

Anyone who has mourned the death of a beloved child will take comfort from Gordon Livingston's unsparing but ultimately heartening narrative of loss, grief, and healing -- Nancy Mairs, author of Ordinary Time

Beautifully written, Only Spring is a deeply moving and inspiring testimonial. -- Jerome Frank, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University

Day by day, Only Spring takes us along the arduous path that comes with the loss of a child. There is no way around this dreadful, aching grief, but as Gordon Livingston demonstrates, what we learn by going through it is the deepest, purest form of love -- Elizabeth Mehren, author of Born Too Soon and After the Darkest Hour

Don't wait for a tragedy to teach you about the preciousness of life and love. Let Lucas's life and Only Spring be your teachers. -- Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine, and Miracles

Like explorers before him, Livingston charts his terrible journey through grief, properly humbled by its unrelenting terrain. He rages, he questions, he mourns--all with brave honesty. -- Anne McCracken and Mary Semel, editors of A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies

This book has the power of a sledgehammer and the tenderness of the saddest love story. Be prepared to cry your heart out and learn about coping, about strength, and about hope -- Ben Bradlee, former executive editor, Washington Post

This extraordinary book will truly haunt the reader with the places that the author goes in his mind and soul in response to the harshness of his fate. -- Frank Conroy, director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and author of Body and Soul

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1569246599
• ISBN 13: 9781569246597
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256