And a Time to Die: The Pain and Love of a Journey Home with AIDS

``All journeys are personal ones. Some are painful. The journey of walking with a loved one who has AIDS is one of plateaus, peaks and valleys. The road is sometimes tortuous and agonizing. But there is an emotional bonding which is sustaining throughout the pilgrimage. Through it all, a sacred light guides and shines on the path ahead.'' With these prefatory comments, Greaser shares her own agonizing journey as her stepson dies of AIDS. Hers is a story that could so easily have been written in a saccharine and melancholy mode. Instead, this is an honest story, one in which Greaser seems unafraid to discuss her inner struggles and pain, as well as that of her husband. (Both of them believe that homosexuality is not part of God's plan, but still God is a loving God who embraces and died for their son.) She shares with the reader their parental fears that David, who had rejected God years before, would die without realizing God's love. This record of the Greasers' agony-intimate, loving, gentle, honest and filled with hope-is a perfect companion for anyone on the same journey or undergoing the same theological struggles with convictions. (Aug.)