Review of Hope Is a Bright Star

[Faithy_Goody_Star]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Hope Is a Bright Star" by Faith Fuller Wilcox.]

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

After a period of excruciating pain, Elizabeth, Faith Fuller Wilcox’s daughter, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma cancer. Like numerous cancer patients, she goes down the road of rounds of chemotherapy and other forms of treatment. Weak, yet thriving & having fun, enveloped with pain, yet living & impacting lives are the few words that best describe Elizabeth from the day she was diagnosed till the day she kicked the bucket.

You have probably felt the death of a loved one in your bone marrow. Perhaps you were so close and attached to the person that you felt you could not thrive or survive without them. In fact, my heart ached, my stomach churned, and tears filled my eyes at different points of reading Hope Is a Bright Star. Sometimes, I had to take a break because it felt so overwhelming. If I could feel these as a reader, how much more Faith, the mother? Even you may have experienced this. Some claim that young people have not embraced the reality that as they get older, their parents are also getting older, shortening their parents’ time on earth. If this is a fact, how can a parent ever come to terms with the possibility that her young teen is getting to the end of her time on earth?

Faith poured out her feelings, emotions, experiences, and relationships during this period of her life. How did she grieve? Did she overcome her grief? How did she do so, and how long did it take her? These are probably questions running through your mind now. Feel free to read this book to get answers to these questions and even others not mentioned above.

In times of grieving, what may help a grieving person pull through is the support from family, friends, acquaintances, or even strangers. The author was lucky in this aspect. Notwithstanding this fact, one may wonder if that is enough. We have probably seen persons who have received absolute support but still ended up losing themselves. Therefore, there is a need for individuals who have passed through a similar phase to guide them directly or indirectly. Faith sufficiently achieved this in her book. By reading Hope Is a Bright Star, individuals who have lost a loved one or facing a challenge can be hopeful and seek a fresh start.

Considering that this is a book that was written by a person who has experienced pain firsthand, people who have experienced or are passing through the same phase will relate with her. As much as this book will make you feel sad, pity, or moody, there are fun and breathtaking parts incorporated in it as well. I kept rooting for the author, and I hoped that she would pull through in all the roadblocks she encountered.

My favourite part of this book is Elizabeth’s visit to some patients in a hospital. It melted my heart and reinforced my belief that humanity wins always. I also learnt that I could be the light in people’s lives, even in trying times. Despite its subject, this is one of the best books I have read in a while. It was perfectly organized and easy to read and assimilate. Furthermore, I did not find many distracting errors. Indeed, it was professionally edited. I have nothing negative to write about this book. The foregoing entitles me to give the book a rating of four out of four stars.

I recommend this book to people who are grieving and are looking for moral support, as it will be helpful to them.

******
Hope Is a Bright Star
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Rishi_reviews]

I'm not much into emotional books but this one seems like it will do me good as I haven't felt much emotions from some time now. So I think I'll give this a try. Thanks for the review.

[David Iba]

It always a pain to miss your love one in this situation. I like this book.

[Purplesturv]

Losing a loved one is tough! Losing one's child hits different. Glad the author could put her grief in writing as a memoir for others struggling with the same fate. Thank you for your insightful review.

[Ayomide Solomon]

It indeed a devastating scenario to loss your loved ones, the pain, grieve, etc. and sometimes self-infliction could occur as well.
I can "feel" the sad but optimistic emotion of Faith Wilcox's in this book through this wonderful review.
Nice review.