Books

Good Grief

The School of Dying Graces says costly lessons lead to priceless wisdom.

The miracles we ask for are not always the miracles we receive.

In this memoir, Richard Felix, president emeritus of Azusa Pacific University, tells how he prayed that his wife, Vivian, would be healed from breast cancer. After more than two years of battle, including a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, radiation, a bone-marrow transplant, a miracle drug, and experimental therapies, Vivian died.

The School of Dying Graces: Lessons on Living from Two Extraordinary Journeys Toward God by Richard Felix with Rob Wilkins SaltRiver (Tyndale), 208 pp., $17.99

In this elegantly told story of faith amid suffering, Felix describes how he and Vivian entered “the school of dying graces”—learning grace for living, letting go, dependence, surrender, gratitude, transformation, and how to see with the eyes of faith.

“It is possible,” he writes, “to stand on the cusp of our very worst fears, endure the nightmare of their coming true, and find that on the other side we have been transformed rather than destroyed.”

Sprinkled throughout are poignant journal entries from Vivian: “It is so hard to die in slow pieces. It is so hard to suffer. … I have begged God, badgered, pleaded, wept … all I seem to get is, ‘Trust me.'”

At the end of Vivian’s life, Felix believes “the lessons may be costly, but the wisdom is priceless.”

Keep the Kleenex handy.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

The School of Dying Graces is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

More about Richard Felix and his book, including a chapter excerpt, are available from the publisher.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

New York's New Hope

Faith Amid the Muck

Mythical Proportions

Editorial

Nightmares and Miracles

Post-Election Faith at Work

The Shroud's Second Image

Tuning the Soul

When Backward Is Forward

Word Become Flesh

Worldview Boot Camp

'Assault on the Jewish People'

Advice Rejected

Deconstructing Gulags

Liberties 'Violated'

News

Quotation Marks

Roads to Recovery

Spitting on God's Image

Why I Return To The Pews

Faith, Fear, War, Peace

News

<em>Christianity Today</em> News Briefs

News

Passages

Review

The Perfect Blend

Q & A: Charles Krauthammer

Sloppy Inclusiveness

Baptism + Fire

Editorial

Canterbury Crackup

Cheated by the Affirming Church

News

Go Figure

From <em>Ewww</em> ... to <em>Wow</em>!

Good Boundaries Make Good Christians

Human Sacrifice Redux

Invitation to Paganism

Killing with Kindness

Lost Tribe Found?

View issue

Our Latest

Review

New & Noteworthy Books

Chosen by Matt Reynolds, CT senior books editor.

News

Recovery Ministries Help Portland Get Clean

After an attempt to decriminalize drugs made the addiction crisis in Oregon even worse, local Christians are pleading with the sick—and the state—to let them help.

News

When a Stanford Bible Study Led to an AI Startup

Two young Christians made a college counseling tool, saying AI should serve those on the margins—not just the rich and powerful.

A Solution for Seasonal Overwhelm

Focusing on the few in front of us makes a tangible difference in our local communities.

News

Finding Sobriety—and Jesus—in Vietnam’s Christian Drug Rehabs

The country’s church-run addiction centers are so effective that communist officials are taking notice.

Review

The Black Church Has Five Theological Anchors

Walter Strickland’s sweeping narrative of African American Christianity portrays a big God who is strong to deliver.

Review

Tending and Keeping the Christian Past in an ‘Ahistoric Age’

Why the work of historical stewardship isn’t just for historians.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube