"Colm Francis Magee had died seven times before his seventh
birthday. Cardiac arrest. Not to be mistaken for a heart
attack in which clogged arteries prevent blood from reaching
the heart and then the muscle withers. There was nothing
wrong with Colm's strength of heart. No, Colm Francis
Magee's heart simply and inexplicably stopped beating at the
most inopportune moments."
With this eye-opening paragraph, author Mary Curran Hackett
begins "Proof of Heaven," the heart-wrenching story of Colm
Magee and his mother Cathleen's journey to discovering why
Colm is suffering, what can stop it, and how it can be
accomplished. While the pair navigate the vast medical
options that are thrown at them, Cathleen, a single mother,
must also face the question of how much faith to put into
doctors and how much faith to put into her own religious
beliefs and the power of prayer.
When Cathleen is referring to yet another specialist, Dr.
Gaspar Basu, she immediately notices quite a few things are
different about him. For one, he is younger than most of the
other doctors, is very aware of Colm's condition, and
probably most importantly, speaks very little to her but
mostly to Colm.
Dr. Basu is very tuned in to what Colm has to say, how he
feels before his attacks happen and what he feels upon
waking up. The doctor immediately suggests that Colm receive
a pacemaker to help keep his heart beating when his body
refuses to do so on its own.
Cathleen has her doubts that he knows what he is talking
about especially when he has ordered no tests like all the
others. But there is also something about the doctor that
gives her a glimmer of hope that perhaps this will be the
answer.
But before the procedure can be done, Colm has another
attack that leaves him "dead" for over 10 minutes. Now
Cathleen is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him
alive. She reverts back to relying on her faith, even to the
point of taking Colm on a pilgrimage to Italy for a healing.
But Colm soon grows sicker and being weary of the constant
upheaval, begs his mother to do one last thing for him -- to
help him find his biological father, and then to let him
have a little peace in his life. Unknown to Cathleen, Dr.
Basu or even Colm, this request would be the one that would
answer all their questions in a way no one could ever have
anticipated.
This powerful book touches on the many different points of
view on heaven and what happens after a person dies -- the
views of the absolute believer in heaven, the nonbeliever,
the one torn between belief and non-belief, and the believer
who no longer believes. But ultimately, PROOF OF HEAVEN is
about a mother's overwhelming love for her child and her
desire and determination to take any path that will mean a
cure for her son. The story will touch your heart, open your
soul, and help you realize that all parts of life are worth
cherishing.
A mother’s faith, a child’s courage, a doctor’s dedication—a
moving and thought-provoking tale of hope, love, and family
He might be young, but Colm already recognizes the truth:
that he’s sick and not getting better. His mother, Cathleen,
fiercely believes her faith will protect her ailing son, but
Colm is not so sure. With a wisdom far beyond his years,
Colm has come to terms with his probable fate, but he does
have one special wish. He wants to meet his father who
abandoned his beloved mother before Colm was born.
But the quest to find the dying boy’s missing parent soon
becomes a powerful journey of emotional discovery—a test of
belief and an anxious search for proof of heaven.
A magnificent debut novel, Mary Curran Hackett’s Proof of
Heaven is a beautiful and unforgettable exploration of the
power of love and the monumental questions of life, death,
and the afterlife.
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