CONVERSATIONS WITH THE VOICELESS: Finding God's Love in Life's Hardest Questions

Wessells spends his days praying and singing worship songs for head trauma patients in comas, something he admits may seem frivolous. He makes the case that these people and their families are among "the least of these" for whom Jesus cares deeply. And his stories are powerful. He talks about a young man who made a decision to follow Christ while in a comatose state. He tells of sharing his faith with Christine Busalacchi before her father got permission to remove her feeding tube and she starved to death—how the girl neurologists described as being "in a persistent vegetative state" had waved to him, smiled and responded to praise music. But more importantly, Wessells discusses the difficult questions that a ministry like his uncovers. Why are some lives cut short? Why do some patients recover, while others' bodies shrivel as their minds slowly lose control? Wessells reassures readers that it's okay to ask questions and not have answers—and that, no matter what, God's love abounds. These are lessons he learned not only through his ministry but also through the loss of his young son to cancer. This is a rare book that offers hope and comfort without ignoring or sugarcoating the painful realities that families of head trauma patients face. (Jan.)