Colm is a little boy who is dying.
He knows it. His mother knows it. His doctor knows it. Coming to terms with
this knowledge, Colm tries to placate his mother by pretending to believe in
the healing powers of faith that she believes in. But he grows tired, physically
and mentally. It is time for Colm to tell his mother the truth: There is no God
and there is no life after death.
In Mary Curran-Hackett’s “Proof of
Heaven,” a little boy is trying to deal with a very grown-up problem of facing
his own mortality. He knows he is going to die but he has one mission on this
earth that he would like to fulfill before his life ends and that is to meet
his father. He knows it will hurt his mother if he tells her this, so he does
his best to do this on his own.
With the help of his Uncle Sean and
his doctor, he is confident that he will be able to find his father and gently
break the news to his mother of his impending death. While Colm’s mother,
Cathleen will stop at nothing to save her son. Her faith in God is unwaivering,
as is her faith in their doctor and new friend, Dr. Basu. She knows that there
is a way to heal her young son and restore his health so that he can grow up
with her.
This book asks questions about
love, death, and the afterlife. It is an exploration of the unbreakable bond of
mother and child. It is about what makes a family. Most of all, this book is a
journey about faith. It is about the different phases of faith in people’s
lives. There are many ways to exhibit faith, whether it be through the ritual
of religion, whether it be through science, or whether it is simply through the
faith we have in our friends and family. This book is a reconnaissance of faith
in all of it’s facets.
This is Curran-Hackett’s debut
novel. She uses experiences from her own life to paint a very real picture of a
boy and his mother who seem to be out of hope, but are never out of faith.
