The Boys: Or, Waiting for the Electricians Daughter

It is very rare that someone is able to accurately capture life with a handicapped relative without too much saccharine filled language or despondency. Terpstra managed to portray what my life was like for 9 years with the same matter of fact, frank attitude that I used to approach it (an attitude which seems strange and callous to many who have not been there). This book is very real. If you have lived this life in some way you will appreciate the honesty of the book. If you know someone who has been in the same situation or is actively living it you should read the book to better understand what it is like.

Through reflective prose, John Terpstra records the impact his brothers-in-law had on his life and the lives of everyone who knew them. The Boys creatively reflects on the final years that three brothers, all inflicted with muscular dystrophy, lived. The reader is compelled to view their lives as the author does - lives that influenced and impacted many other lives, and continues to live on within others. Rather than viewing their lives as a burden, the author shares his personal story of how the lives of all three brothers have enriched his life, the life of his wife, and through The Boys, continue to enrich the life of each reader. The Boys is a must read for anyone whose lives or deals with chronic or terminally ill patients. While remaining completely frank and open, the author's words are a source of encouragement as he challenges his readers not to view a shortened or handicapped life as a waste. The reader is challenged to recognize that the "simple fact of your created being is sufficient for all time" to justify your existence here on earth. "[The boys] proved it by being themselves and having no `future.'"