Holding Silvan: A Brief Life

In the opening of "Holding Silvan: A Brief Life, " Monica Wesolowska gives birth to her first child, a healthy-seeming boy who is taken from her arms for "observation" when he won't stop crying. Within days, Monica and her husband have been given the grimmest of prognoses for Silvan, and they must make a choice about his life. The story that follows is not a story of typical maternal heroism. There is no medical miracle here. Instead, we find the strangest of hopes. Certain of her choice, Monica must still ask herself at every step if she is loving Silvan as well as a mother can. The result is a page-turning testimony to the power of love. By raising ethical questions about how a death can be good in the age of modern medicine, Holding Silvan becomes a joyous paean to what makes life itself good. Whether you have suffered profound loss or not, this book will change your life.


Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Hawthorne Books
Published: 03/05/2013
ISBN: 9780986000713
Pages: 204
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.50w x 0.60d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2013
Shelf Awareness 03/15/2013
LJ Best Books of Year 12/01/2013 pg. 34