As the book opens, Richard Lischer's son, Adam, calls to tell his father, a professor of divinity at Duke University, that his cancer has returned. A smart, charismatic young man with a promising law career, Adam seems an unlikely candidate for tragedy, and the fact that his young wife is pregnant with their first child makes the disease's return all the more devastating. Despite the crushing magnitude of his diagnosis and the cruel course of the illness, Adam's growing weakness evokes in him an unexpected strength. We see Adam through the many phases of his life, but always through the narrow lens of his undying hope, until, in his final months, he becomes his family's (and his father's) spiritual leader. Deeply personal and powerfully honest, Stations of the Heart is an unforgettable book about life and death and the terrible blessing of saying good-bye. This emotionally riveting account probes the heart without sentimentality or self-pity. A father's heartbreaking and hopeful story about his beloved son, in which a young man teaches his family "a new way to die" with wit, candor, and grace. "A book after my own heart, profound, gorgeous, deeply spiritual and human, beautifully written, heartbreaking, but also, because of the writer's wisdom and spirit, triumphant." -Anne Lamott As the book opens, Richard Lischer's son, Adam, calls to tell his father, a professor of divinity at Duke University, that his cancer has returned. Adam is a charismatic young man with a promising law career, and that his wife is pregnant with their first child makes the disease's return all the more devastating. Despite the cruel course of the illness, Adam's growing weakness evokes in him a remarkable spiritual strength. This is the story of one last summer, lived as honestly and faithfully as possible. Deeply moving and utterly lacking in sentimentality or self-pity, Stations of the Heart is an unforgettable book about life and death and the terrible blessing of saying good-bye.