{"product_id":"holding-silvan-isbn-9780986000713","title":"Holding Silvan","description":"\u003cb\u003eFOR READERS OF \u003ci\u003eONCE MORE WE SAW STARS\u003c\/i\u003e AND \u003ci\u003eWHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen her newborn son is given days to live, a mother's impossible choice becomes a searing meditation on what makes both death good and life worth living\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the opening of \u003ci\u003eHolding Silvan: A Brief Life,\u003c\/i\u003e Monica Wesolowska gives birth to her first child, a healthy-seeming boy who is taken from her arms for “observation” when he won't stop crying. Within days, Monica and her husband have been given the grimmest of prognoses for Silvan, and they must make a choice about his life. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe story that follows is not a story of typical maternal heroism. There is no medical miracle here. Instead, we find the strangest of hopes. Certain of her choice, Monica must still ask herself at every step if she is loving Silvan as well as a mother can. The result is a page-turning testimony to the power of love. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy raising ethical questions about how a death can be good in the age of modern medicine,\u003ci\u003e Holding Silvan\u003c\/i\u003e becomes a joyous paean to what makes life itself good. Whether you have suffered profound loss or not, this book will change your life.\"This book clearly deals with a dark, difficult, and important subject. I can't imagine anyone better equipped to do full justice to such a profound human experience.\" —Michael Cunningham, author of \u003ci\u003eBy Nightfall\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Hours\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"We have never needed this book more.\" —Erica Jong, author of \u003ci\u003eFear of Flying\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I was swept away by this book. Heartfelt, heartbreaking and brave, it takes us on a fascinating ethical journey in prose that shines with Wesolowska\"s love for her son. I feel fortunate for the experience, as if I have held Silvan myself. I'll never forget it.\" — =Julia Scheeres, author of \u003ci\u003eJesus Land\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Thousand Lives\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A tender, poignant and courageous narrative—insightful and beautifully written.\" —Abraham Verghese, author of \u003ci\u003eCutting for Stone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"When I picked up this book for the first time, my heart sank. I wondered if I could even bear to read such a sad story. And yet, within moments, I couldn't put it down. I read long into the night, unable to leave the story until I reached its at once achingly tragic and profoundly life-affirming end. That the story of the death of a child is, in fact, life-affirming is a tribute to Monica Wesolowska's graceful prose, her unflinching eye, and most of all her indomitable spirit. This book taught me more about a mother's love than anything I have ever read before or since.\" — Ayelet Waldman, author of \u003ci\u003eBad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"When someone writes about grief they also write about courage, since they survived to tell the story. The beauty and emotional integrity of \u003ci\u003eHolding Silvan\u003c\/i\u003e strikes me to the core. This book is brilliant.\" —Lidia Yuknavitch, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Chronology of Water\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eMONICA WESOLOWSKA\u003c\/b\u003e has published both fiction and memoir in numerous literary journals and anthologies including \u003ci\u003eBest New American Voices 2000, The Carolina Quarterly, Quarter After Eight, Literary Mama,\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eMy Little Red Book.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Hawthorne Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48532154089701,"sku":"NP9780986000713","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780986000713.jpg?v=1773182859","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/holding-silvan-isbn-9780986000713","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}