Lovely Bones

Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold, is the story of girl who was raped, murdered, then dismembered by a neighbor and who then observes how her family copes with the shock and grief of her loss as she lingers in the In-between. It was a sad, painful, and, at times, scary, read. As a father of two kids myself, the loss of a child to violent death is something I cannot imagine recovering from. The decision of Susie's mom to run away and commit adultery should have driven her husband Jack Salmon mad, but he was only happy to see her back home when she finally returned.

But life goes on as sister Lindsey finishes college and decides to get married to childhood sweetheart Samuel. Life begins anew as the family is reunited by Jack's heart attack and Susie finally lets go and moves on to heaven.

I know intimately a place where violent death happened. Just today, I read about a couple shot and killed at their own home. The violence Susie experienced is real. I can only hope that the acceptance she and her family finally felt will be just as real for those who suffer violence.