The Broken and the Whole: Discovering Joy after Heartbreak
Twenty-five years ago, Rabbi Sherman and his family had their lives reconfigured around an extraordinary medical event. He entwines these experiences with biblical passages that have helped them through. Beginning with the family’s last “normal” summer, he introduces readers to his third-born, Eyal, then a bright and playful four-year-old. Eight months later, Eyal was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Most of the tumor was removed through a delicate surgery, but the boy suffered a stroke soon after, which has left him both paraplegic and voiceless. The book describes how the rabbi and his wife reworked their lives and the lives of all five of their kids to keep Eyal with them. Their journey through various stages of education and self-discovery is juxtaposed gracefully with what they learned from caregivers, other parents of ill children, scriptural studies, and Eyal himself. This will be of interest to families who find themselves in similar situations, no matter their faith. --Francisca Goldsmith