"Blessed is she who without dying has won the martyr's crown." -- from Vespers of Our Lady of Sorrows
It Doesn't End Here by Dawn Marie Roeder is an extraordinary chronicle which I read in one sitting; I simply could not put it down. The beautifully composed and heartrending memoir describes the horrific death of Mrs. Roeder's darling two year old son Nathaniel, her only child, in a car accident. The accident was the result of the side effects of a prescription medication for ADHD, a medication which is known to occasionally induce a psychotic state. Mrs. Roeder, as the unwitting victim of a failure of the medical profession, faced a journey to hell and back again. Interwoven with Scripture passages about the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the book confronts the reality of evil and how innocent people are hurt by it. Holding on to the hope of Heaven and eternity becomes the compass which guides the author back from the abyss.
Mrs. Roeder writes with honest clarity, from the heart, which make the power of the emotions she describes all the more poignant. With many twists, turns and flashbacks, the book reads like a mystery novel in the way that the layers are slowly peeled back to expose the truth. Anyone who has ever suffered a loss will identify with the pain described and find new hope as well. Most of all, a special little boy lives in the pages of the book; he comes to life so one can see him as he was, while knowing that he has a mission which he is even now fulfilling from Heaven.
Not only is the book an awe-inspiring witness to faith but it reveals the insidiousness of the pharmaceutical industry. Mrs. Roeder found herself in a fierce battle with a drug company as she struggled to keep other families from being destroyed by the same medication, still on the market. Some earthly battles we are not meant to win, but for those who love God there is a spiritual victory in each outward failure. Because of the way the author and her family are attacked when they dare to seek justice for Nathaniel, every American should read It Doesn't End Here. People need to see for themselves what could happen to any of us at the hands of those who love money more than they fear God or man.
(*NOTE: It Doesn't End Here was sent to me by the author in exchange for my honest opinion.)
