A Grief Unveiled: One Father's Journey Through the Loss of a Child

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Summary: A moving, inspiring, gut-wrenching book of faith!
Review: Gregory Floyd has done just what the title suggests. He has let us see and experience his journey through a parent's worst nightmare come true - the tragic death of their young son. This is no pie in the sky Christianity, but a journey through Hell on earth screaming for answers. You will be challenged right down to your socks in what you believe life is all about.

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Summary: A must for all Christians: to understand the loss of a child
Review: Gregory Floyd writes from the heart - and what he has to share is compelling not just from the perspective that he is sharing the depths of his grief - and how his faith in God helped him to deal with that grief. His insights are for ALL Christians, and will benefit the non-Christian as well. Gregory shares poignantly about the world - wanting to provide only worldly comfort, some Christians who only wanted to offer "spiritual" consolation, and how the most precious who reached out to him and his family were those who BLENDED the heavenly and earthly realities. He gained insights into how all Christians are called, albeit in different ways, to bear their share of the suffering of Christ to ultimately experience the true JOY of Jesus. I can't say enough how every Christian will benefit from reading this book: it will help men to see the need to not be afraid to show their feelings (after all - "Jesus wept"), and will enable them (through reading of Gregory's many examples with helping his wife and children deal with the death of John Paul) better husbands, fathers, and spiritual heads of their households; it will speak to all of how to deal better with catastophic personal suffering, or improve their consolation and compassion on those around them who are in the throes of some form of suffering. Don't think twice about getting this book!

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Summary: Required Reading for Engaged Couples
Review: In High Schools, the students watch "Schindler's List", a difficult but important film, in order to learn from the tragedy. This book is the "Schindler's List" for marriage prep. Without it, "For better or for worse" is a glib statement, by two egotists who are unprepared when that "worse" (whatever it may be) inevitably rears its head. Because I'm reading it before my wedding, I have a firmer grasp (like cement) of the importance of the commitment, the experience of a family (albeit a large family), and confirmation of that ever-present presence of grace, God's grace, still flickering while nearly everything else is in shambles.

While the story is agonizing to tell, Gregory Floyd handles such impossible material with grace. There's great potential for the book to be a dual threat: to be emotionally draining, and repetitive. Granted, it's both, but it's never boring. The book grabs you by the jugular and causes personal introspection to take over. I was reminded of how a child can have a dual personality, angelic wonder intermixed with a carnal longing for playtime and candy, all within a half-hour. I was encouraged by his friends and large family, and reminded of the blessings of what a family could mean. I was floored by the powerful words of wisdom of Fr. Philip Merdinger at the funeral mass, the stunning reassurance that where Johnny-Paul was, he would never want to leave. All this and I'm still not halfway through.

Most people wouldn't consider getting a book like this until (God forbid) this sort of tragedy strikes home. Don't wait until then... you will not have the strength to read this. Don't be intimidated by the material... it's easy to read, it flows, it goes down easy (if easy is the best word). Though it all, my hope in families are invigorated, and my faith in God is reassured (like fire).

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Summary: Hope Found And Hope Shared
Review: In the search of his own heart and in his loving care for his family Gregory Floyd shares a year's journey after the death of his six year old son John Paul. Floyd invites us on a journey that is completely human and yet mystical at the same time. In his sorrow, pain and loss he finds a faith in God who us present with him at every moment of the struggle. This is a totally honest story of loss and victory, grief and hope. All who have dealt with pain and loss will find in this book an exquiste reflection on many aspects of healing - and finally hope.

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Summary: This book is, without a doubt, life changing.
Review: There are no words to describe what an amazing book this is. I read this book when I began my journey down the road of grief and healing over my dad's death. I wept. I laughed. Sometimes at the same time,but God ministered to me through the openeness of this family. They allow you into such a private, intimate time and let you see that you can grieve with hope. There is no doubt that you will be blessed by their courage, strength, faith, and unending devotion to the Lord. May God bless them for their willingness to be used by him in such a vulnerable way.

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Summary: A Grace Revealed
Review: This book is the attempt of one father to come to terms with the anguish, the heart-break, the devastation, and the questions that arise when tragedy strikes. Others books have attempted the same. The great English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote a book entitled The Problem of Pain, exploring these difficult questions. It is interesting to compare it with a book he wrote later, after his wife died of cancer. His A Grief Observed does not so much refute what he wrote earlier, but in many ways goes far beyond it.

A theoretical and theological reflection of suffering is one thing. A first-hand personal account is another. A Grief Unveiled is of the second type. Not that theological and biblical reflection is absent. But this is the very personal and very moving account of how one father copes with the worst pain imaginable, moments after the event, hours after, days after, months after, and years after. What does the journey of grief look like from the inside? This volume is an unforgettable account of one long and painful trip through grief.

For anyone who has experienced any comparable tragedy, the book will echo similar thoughts and emotions, and will bring forth many tears. The book does not over-sentimentalize, but neither does it over-spiritualize. It is brutally honest and totally real.

Anyone who suffers will resonate with these moving chapters. Yet it is not just a book about sorrow, grief and pain. It is also a book about hope, joy and victory. It is the story of a radiant faith; a faith that takes a terrible hammering, but a faith the survives and grows and triumphs. But it is triumphant faith because it has as its object a triumphant God. Indeed, God is the real subject of this book in many ways. It is only because of the great love, grace and mercy of God that the Floyds can make it through the valley of the shadow of death.

The opening chapters are the most painful. Descriptions of the accident. Cradling a dying boy. The nervous wait at the hospital. The bad news from the doctor. Watching a lifeless boy in a casket, bandages over the eyes, because the organs were donated. The burial. The days immediately thereafter.

The grief seems unbearable. But with time comes some relief. The hole in the soul is always there. It will never disappear. But the intense pain and grief slowly, and surely, begin to subside. And through it all, one believer's relationship with his God is sorely tested, but in the end, vindicated. And with it comes the spiritual understanding that comes with the suffering, the realization that the God we serve is a suffering God.

God the Father knows all about suffering. He too lost a son in tragic circumstances. And Mary, the mother of Jesus, also knows the heartbreak of losing a beloved son. But as Floyd makes quite clear, Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday. John-Paul is not dead, but alive, waiting for the glorious reunion that will one day take place. The promise of the resurrection is the believer's hope. And the resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee that we too will one day be raised.

But it works both ways, There can be no Easter without Calvary. Suffering is the path chosen by Christ, and it is the path his followers must also accept. The hard questions may never fully be answered. But the ultimate answer to the problem of suffering and evil is not a proposition but a person. Jesus, who is acquainted with grief and familiar with sorrow, is the only one who can offer comfort and hope to those who suffer.

If God can take the most horrible and painful event in human history, the cross, and turn it into the most glorious and blessed of events, then there is hope for us as well. Suffering can be redeemed. It can make us more like the one who knows all about suffering.

This book is a testament to the way the death of one man two thousand years ago becomes the basis of hope for everyone today. This powerful story will help those who are suffering to make it through. And it will help all of us to get our priorities a little more straight, and help us refocus our attention on what is truly important and of value in life.

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Summary: Tragedy - Hope - God's Grace
Review: This was a difficult book to read -- because it's difficult to read through tears. Reading this account of the death of six year old John Paul Floyd and the unveiling of the grief process for his father, mother, siblings, family and friends was sad but also uplifing as Gregory Floyd allows us to enter into his thoughts, his prayers, his anger, his questioning of God, his extreme love of God, his fire-tested faith in God, and ultimately his hope. This is an important book that should be read by all who have suffered the loss of a loved one -- and a book that should be read by all parents and grandparents. You will consider your children and your grandchildren in an entirely different light after reading this powerful book. Thank you, Gregory Flood, for sharing your pain and your hope with us. I am a better person for having read this book!

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Summary: A must read for anyone coping with the loss of a loved one.
Review: To the believers and more importantly to the non-believers, all of whom bear their own burden of sufferings, Gregory Floyd (and his wife, Maureen) have opened a door to tremendous hope and consolation with their hearts overflowing with love, compassion and understanding. For everyone who has felt the lost of a loved one, this book speaks to the broken heart and allows the healing to begin. This is truly a father's love not only for his son but for his family and friends and now it reaches out to all of us. Not only do we see how a man loves his God, wife and children but how we should love these as well. I have also listened to the music composed and song by Mr. Floyd, "Angel in Disguise" and was equally moved and uplifted by the power of his words. I expected no less from his book and I was not disappointed.