Customer Reviews

Fireflies

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This is one of the most touching books I have ever read. Morrell takes the reader on a remarkable journey of love, loss, and moving on in life. He makes the reader feel connected to his family, as well as the experiences they went through as his son was diagnosed, treated, and died from cancer. Although I have never lost someone I love from cancer, I felt consumed by Morrell's passion and felt like I could relate to what he was going through. This book defintely gives readers the hope that things will get better and ways to deal with the tension cancer brings. It is a true ray of light in a dark world.

If you pick up this book by your favorite author and don't review it first.you will be in for a new type of adventure...one that is an extra-ordinary, gruelng adventure but not the type Morrell usually writes. This is the search into the depths of his mind and soul as he fights to save the life of his 15 yr. old son, Matthew who develops Ewings Sarcoma, not in his arm or leg but in a rib where it cannot be amputated. David and Matthew each undergo life threatening demands on their physical and emotional planes...one that cannot be survived by Matthew and one that renders David almost lifeless. Your thoughts on life present and life future will undergo a revolution similar to theirs...you won't be the same person who started reading this encounter with the very devil of our existence in this earthly passageway. I will not be selling this book or donating it to the library but I will tell every one to read it for an undreamed of spiritual adventure and come back to life in real time with altered outlook or belief in the Greater Power.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I have found myself reading it several different times over the last couple of years. When I feel that I have lost all spirituality, I read this book and feel whole again. This book elegantly combines love, anger, and sorrow. The reader is able to feel the emotions that David is struggling with. I am blessed not to have lost a child but through his writing, I can identify with the grief that he has and continues to feel. His medical descriptions are incredible for a man who is not a healthcare worker. It is evident that he did his research. God bless Matthew. It is such a tragedy for a child to die. And yet, when you finish this book, there is a strong feeling that he is with God and he is at peace now.

I was having a difficult time accepting the death of my son to bacterial meningitis. It was so sudden I never had a chance to say "Goodbye". I was so tired of all the people who kept telling me that I had to "get on with life". I knew this! But inside was that feeling of helplessness that you can't explain to anyone, that feeling of guilt that as a parent I had not been able to stop what had happened to him. I read this book and was so comforted because here was someone who not only understood, but put into words the "want" of every parent who loses a child. In the end you had the same results...but in your heart you keep hoping that it will change. Mr. Morrell's sharing of his sorrow gave me a sense of peace and hope...he understood how I felt. I love to watch for fireflies in the summer now and I think of my son Jason, and I think of David Morrell and thank him for allowing me to know I was not alone in wanting to turn back time and change the inevitable. I also wish him peace. Any parent who has ever lost a child will identify with the pain, but find peace, comfort, and even an occassional smile, in Mr. Morrell's story. This is a wonderful book.

This is about one man coping with the illness and death of a child. It helped ease my own loss and made me realize that even though someone you love is gone, they are still here as long as you remember them, whether you are reminded of them by a winter storm, a summer sunset, or a cloud of fireflies.

David Morrell is known for writing about strong characters being placed into incredible and life threatening situations. Imagine finding yourself there...imagine what it must be like to know that your son, a boy not yet 16 years old, is dying and that there is absolutely nothing you can do but watch it happen and pray that things will turn out okay. Imagine the torment, the despair, the pain. Morrell brings all of these powerful human feelings to the forefront and provides us with a breath of hope that we CAN endure such agony...his eloquent writing and deeply expressed feelings shine through like fireflies in a night sky. You don't have to be religious or spiritual to recognize what true, unconditional love is. David Morrell shows us this side of himself. Fireflies is a completely unflinching and heart-rending story of love, loss and acceptance. It will touch your heart and make you cry. By book's end, you will be in awe of this family's strength, courage and commitment to one another. READ THIS BOOK! It will remind you of what it really means to be human...it'll provide hope...it will give you reason to believe. Thank you, Mr. Morrell. You are an inspiration.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I have found myself reading it several different times over the last couple of years. When I feel that I have lost all spirituality, I read this book and feel whole again. This book elegantly combines love, anger, and sorrow. The reader is able to feel the emotions that David is struggling with.

...David Morrell's book, Fireflies, does a remarkable job of providing a little window into the lives of families dealing with such unimaginable fear...It's not an easy read. It will tear at your heart. However difficult it was to read this book, I found every page worthwhile. I strongly recommend it for anyone who is facing the loss of a child. I thank Mr. Morrell for this beautiful piece of work. I hope that it brings him some healing and comfort to know that by recording his ordeal, he has touched the lives of many others suffering from similar battles...

Fireflies is, by far, the most amazing book I have ever read. I have never been so moved by words on a page as I was when I read Fireflies for the first time. Upon re-reading it, I was again moved in a way that no other book has ever been able to do. Never forget Matthew Morrell or his extraordinary family... and never stop looking for fireflies in the night.

My beautiful 3-year old nephew, Ethan, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor a few months ago. The anguish and shock our family has experienced is indescribable...or so I thought. Though no words can truly capture this horror, fear, pain and drama, David Morrell's book, Fireflies, does a remarkable job of providing a little window into the lives of families dealing with such unimaginable fear. This book was recommended to me by Ethan's mom...who is an inspiration herself. It's not an easy read. It will tear at your heart. However difficult it was to read this book, I found every page worthwhile. I strongly recommend it for anyone who is facing the loss of a child. I thank Mr. Morrell for this beautiful piece of work. I hope that it brings him some healing and comfort to know that by recording his ordeal, he has touched the lives of many others suffering from similar battles. (For anyone who wants to learn about Ethan's situation, please visit our website at I promise that you will be touched by this extraordinarily little boy.)