Cookin' at Cook: A Babe in Transplantland [Paperback]

Loren McClelland (Narrator), Jim McClelland (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

What would you do if your baby had a terminal disease? Would you play it safe or would you go for broke? How do you even survive the gut-wrenching fear of making the wrong decision? What do you do if you make the right decision, but it doesn't seem to work out?

Cookin' At Cook is the answer to these questions for one family. Enter the world of the McClelland family. Just when one-year-old Loren seems to be healing from a devastating illness, he is diagnosed with a rare disease. His only proven hope is a harrowing bone marrow transplant. Embarking on a roller coaster ride the author dubs the "Texas Giant," the McClellands make the fateful decision to go for broke.

Without guarantees, Mom, Loren and Grandma head off to Fort Worth, Texas and Cook Children's Medical Center to seek Loren's healing. Dad, Patrick and Patricia are left to keep the family going. Will it work? What happens if it doesn't?

Buy the book and find out. Join Loren in his world as he takes you through the ups and downs of the transplant process...well, Loren calls it a "transperson" since he isn't a plant. Look at the world from the baby's point of view and learn what it means to truly "have the faith of a child." Witness the exchanges between Loren and his father, Jim, when Jim doesn't keep people informed of Loren's progress.

Through the use of humor and the persona of a child, Jim McClelland has created a book that will help you through good times and bad. Don't let the title fool you. This is a book about life written in the languages of love, humor and grief. McClelland looks through the eyes of a one-year-old to bring you his unique interpretation of life and biblical passages.

Is Cookin' at Cook a book about bone marrow transplants? Sure, but it is more than that. Whether it is a loss of a job, a love or a myriad of other of life's daily disappointments, this is a book that will teach you how to live through the pain - even when all seems lost.

Will Cookin' at Cook teach you to be a better chef? Not unless you're looking for Soul Food. In that case, you will find no better cookbook on the planet.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The first question someone asks me about Cookin' At Cook is what kind of food I cook. When I tell them that it's Soul Food, they look at me strangely...until I tell them the book has nothing to do with the food we eat. When I explain it's a book to feed the spirit and based on my youngest son's experiences with his first of two bone marrow transplants, the lights slowly come on.

Life doesn't consist solely of times of joy followed by times of sorrow. Both aspects of life are intermingled and if you look hard enough, you will find the good in any tragic event. So it is with Loren. God gave us a little boy that nearly died at birth and, just when we thought we were over with the fear of losing our precious child, we were slapped with an even more devastating disease.

The key to our survival was Loren's indestructible good humor and the support of our friends through prayer. In Jesus, we found a God who loves us unconditionally and who would help us weather the good and the bad. In God, we were able to keep going even in the darkest times.

That is the message of Cookin' At Cook. Regardless of what the problem is, regardless of the odds against you, if you remember three little words, "Never Stop Believing," you can never lose. Even if the things you see say that you have lost, with God one never loses.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588515729
• ISBN-13: 978-1588515728
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,105,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Treat, October 30, 2001

By 

Barbara Thorne-Thomsen, M.Ed., LPC (Shreveport, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cookin' at Cook: A Babe in Transplantland (Paperback)

Cookin' At Cook is one of those rare books that inspire me as a therapist to obtain several copies to give to clients who are involved in a tragic situation and need guidance and inspiration to find a way to survive creatively.

Jim McClelland has magically entered the mid of an infant and, with empathy born of love, has enabled him to tell his story. This book is a real treat for those of us who love children and their parents.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking, October 30, 2001

By 

Barbara Thorne-Thomsen, M.Ed., LPC (Shreveport, Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cookin' at Cook: A Babe in Transplantland (Paperback)

I have never been very religious, but would consider myself spiritual. To your credit, I have felt a renewed interest/need in exploring my religious self again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Childs Faith, December 10, 2002

By 

Derek W Harkins (Bellows Falls, VT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cookin' at Cook: A Babe in Transplantland (Paperback)

If you have children of your own read this book. As I read Cookin' at Cook's I was struck with emotions, as a Father myself I do not know how I would react to my children going through the trials that this child went through. I can say that after reading this book it was comical at times trying to understand how a child might view this world we live and how the faith of a child can and will change the hearts and souls of those around them. I would recommend this book to anyone who is suffering from a illness or handy-cap that has been diagnosed as a situation without hope....