A Grief Unveiled: One Father's Journey Through the Death of a Child

The specific circumstances of our son's death and his age were different than Mr. Floyd's child. The feelings and the pain were not. These events test you and your relationship with God as Mr. Floyd writes and he is on the mark. I have bought this book for others, who have lost a child or loved one.

This book brought healing to me that I could not imagine would ever come. I pray blessings over Mr. Lloyd and his family for being so honest and open about his son's death. I lost my 11 month old son to a very rare infection in July 1999. This was a very sudden death, as we found him dead in his crib. I highlighted and still read over this book and each time, I am healed even more. THANK YOU, THANK YOU Mr. Lloyd for teaching me that it's o.k. to be brutally honest before God- you showed me that that is when the healing truly comes. Everyone should read this book.

This book is the attempt of one father to come to terms with the anguish, the heart-break, the devastation, and the questions that arise when tragedy strikes. Others books have attempted the same. The great English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote a book entitled The Problem of Pain, exploring these difficult questions. It is interesting to compare it with a book he wrote later, after his wife died of cancer. His A Grief Observed does not so much refute what he wrote earlier, but in many ways goes far beyond it.A theoretical and theological reflection of suffering is one thing. A first-hand personal account is another. A Grief Unveiled is of the second type. Not that theological and biblical reflection is absent. But this is the very personal and very moving account of how one father copes with the worst pain imaginable, moments after the event, hours after, days after, months after, and years after. What does the journey of grief look like from the inside? This volume is an unforgettable account of one long and painful trip through grief.For anyone who has experienced any comparable tragedy, the book will echo similar thoughts and emotions, and will bring forth many tears. The book does not over-sentimentalize, but neither does it over-spiritualize. It is brutally honest and totally real.Anyone who suffers will resonate with these moving chapters. Yet it is not just a book about sorrow, grief and pain. It is also a book about hope, joy and victory. It is the story of a radiant faith; a faith that takes a terrible hammering, but a faith the survives and grows and triumphs. But it is triumphant faith because it has as its object a triumphant God. Indeed, God is the real subject of this book in many ways. It is only because of the great love, grace and mercy of God that the Floyds can make it through the valley of the shadow of death.The opening chapters are the most painful. Descriptions of the accident. Cradling a dying boy. The nervous wait at the hospital. The bad news from the doctor. Watching a lifeless boy in a casket, bandages over the eyes, because the organs were donated. The burial. The days immediately thereafter. The grief seems unbearable. But with time comes some relief. The hole in the soul is always there. It will never disappear. But the intense pain and grief slowly, and surely, begin to subside. And through it all, one believer's relationship with his God is sorely tested, but in the end, vindicated. And with it comes the spiritual understanding that comes with the suffering, the realization that the God we serve is a suffering God.God the Father knows all about suffering. He too lost a son in tragic circumstances. And Mary, the mother of Jesus, also knows the heartbreak of losing a beloved son. But as Floyd makes quite clear, Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday. John-Paul is not dead, but alive, waiting for the glorious reunion that will one day take place. The promise of the resurrection is the believer's hope. And the resurrec

In High Schools, the students watch "Schindler's List", a difficult but important film, in order to learn from the tragedy. This book is the "Schindler's List" for marriage prep. Without it, "For better or for worse" is a glib statement, by two egotists who are unprepared when that "worse" (whatever it may be) inevitably rears its head. Because I'm reading it before my wedding, I have a firmer grasp (like cement) of the importance of the commitment, the experience of a family (albeit a large family), and confirmation of that ever-present presence of grace, God's grace, still flickering while nearly everything else is in shambles.While the story is agonizing to tell, Gregory Floyd handles such impossible material with grace. There's great potential for the book to be a dual threat: to be emotionally draining, and repetitive. Granted, it's both, but it's never boring. The book grabs you by the jugular and causes personal introspection to take over. I was reminded of how a child can have a dual personality, angelic wonder intermixed with a carnal longing for playtime and candy, all within a half-hour. I was encouraged by his friends and large family, and reminded of the blessings of what a family could mean. I was floored by the powerful words of wisdom of Fr. Philip Merdinger at the funeral mass, the stunning reassurance that where Johnny-Paul was, he would never want to leave. All this and I'm still not halfway through. Most people wouldn't consider getting a book like this until (God forbid) this sort of tragedy strikes home. Don't wait until then... you will not have the strength to read this. Don't be intimidated by the material... it's easy to read, it flows, it goes down easy (if easy is the best word). Though it all, my hope in families are invigorated, and my faith in God is reassured (like fire).

This was a difficult book to read -- because it's difficult to read through tears. Reading this account of the death of six year old John Paul Floyd and the unveiling of the grief process for his father, mother, siblings, family and friends was sad but also uplifing as Gregory Floyd allows us to enter into his thoughts, his prayers, his anger, his questioning of God, his extreme love of God, his fire-tested faith in God, and ultimately his hope. This is an important book that should be read by all who have suffered the loss of a loved one -- and a book that should be read by all parents and grandparents. You will consider your children and your grandchildren in an entirely different light after reading this powerful book. Thank you, Gregory Flood, for sharing your pain and your hope with us. I am a better person for having read this book!