Customer Reviews

Proof of Heaven: A Novel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a terrific read. I suppose the central theme is belief in God. Different characters in the book have different beliefs. At some time or another, they all pray. Are their prayers answered? That's hard to say.

Why do they pray? Many of their prayers are for Colm, a little boy who is deathly ill. Colm doesn't believe in God. He believes that at death, there is nothing more than black nothingness. That's what he experiences when his heart stops, which it has done several times. I won't spoil it for you--read the book, and you will find a satisfying ending.

The book is wonderfully written. The author bases the characters and events on things very familiar to her. I hope she will write more novels!

This was an outstanding first novel by Mary Curran Hackett. I can't say enough about how wonderful it was to read. I really read through it quickly and was sorry when it ended.

It is a story of hope and love. It is a story about four individuals, Cathleen, Colm, Sean and Dr. Basu. Cathleen, a single mother struggling to raise her young son Colm, who has an unusual illness that causes him to actually die and come back, a little less healthy each time. Sean is Cathleens younger fireman brother who has been the man in Colms life until they begin to see Dr. Basu. Dr. Basu finally puts a name to the boys problem and gives him a pacemaker and begins treatment to help Colm with what has been diagnosed as a terminal illness.

Cathleen and Sean were raised as strict Irish Catholics. Sean fell away from his beliefs after 9/11 but Cathleen is a fierce believer and believes with prayer there will be a miracle cure to save her son Colm. Dr. Basu brings to the family a close friendship and the voice of medical science and doubt in a "miracle" of any kind. The four become a family of sorts and depend on each other and love and care for each other fiercely.

Colm is a very special little boy, who does not believe in his mothers faith or her GOD but humors her and has worries for her after he is gone, for he is aware that he is dying. Colms only wish is to see the father he never knew and he will go to any length to see this father. This is the heart of the story that tugged at my heartstrings with an absolutely satisfying ending.

This book raises a lot of questions as to Proof of Heaven and a lot of opinions and the importance of family, love and hope. Fantastic!!

Seven-year-old Colm didn't believe in God like his mother did. And Colm had reason to doubt His existence. After all, Colm had died many times and had seen and experienced nothing but darkness. Colm had a disease that caused cardiac arrest at random times throughout his short life. He worried about his mother and all the distress this caused her. He worried about what would happen to her when he wasn't around anymore to take care of her.

Colm is a special, little guy, and the author was very successful in developing her characters. She wrote a successfully meaningful story with only four endearing characters, and she portrays each in a very realistic and genuine manner, filling each with genuine and human feelings.

Ms. Hackett's writing is clear and descriptive and the story line keeps the reader reading and wondering. This is a very enjoyable and unforgettable book

Proof of Heaven is a thought-provoking read for those who believe and those who sometimes question what comes next. Cathleen is a single mother willing to do any and everything to save her very sick child, Colm, who has "died" many times. We follow all the characters as they struggle with questions regarding their faith; it hasn't been a easy road. Biblical symbols can be seen in the characters throughout the book. The message is clear and heart-warming.

Starting off this book quickly caught my attention, and I connected with the story right away. I loved Colm and felt his courage and strength. Though his mother irritated me, I felt her actions were understandable and believable. Also, the writing was amazing. I felt like each word was placed for a specific purpose and it made me think long after I had finished a page or a chapter. It was an easy read but the story-telling wasn't straight forward, which was quite refreshing. The pacing dragged a bit in the middle but toward the end, I was ripping through the pages looking for the end. As a story, I enjoyed it. As for the message, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I felt it went from being extremely realistic and easy to connect with to being...well dramatic and "sweeping." Overall, I really enjoyed it.

I would recommend this to those who are in need of a inspirational read. Though the message seems to be universal, I think believers will likely get more out of it.

This is a sweet story...and the final chapter is a POW! How does one find proof of heaven? For young Colm, there's a good deal of disbelief. Battling what threatens to take his life, Colm is surrounded by such love...love from his mother, love from his uncle, love from a doctor, also damaged by loss yet open to love, eager to love. And yet all Colm really wants, as his physical self weakens, is to make contact with a father he's never known, a father he is convinced will love him if he just gives meeting Colm a chance. Colm's mother's love is so strong that she'll go to any length to save her son, to seek and provide for him the miracle that will keep him with her. It is her unshakeable beliefs that provide Colm, in the end, with all the proof he needs. This is a nice book, sweetly told; I don't think you'll be disappointed in spending some time with Mary Curran Hackett's "Proof of Heaven."

I received this book as an ARC and was very intrigued by the storyline. As a mom, this book was at times, very difficult to read. I can't imagine watching my child collapse time after time and struggle the way Colm did in this story and feel so helpless. The author was able to put into words those desparate feelings a mother has for her suffering child. Cathleen and Colm had such a unique relationship in this story due to her being a single parent and due to Colm's rare illness. I was fascinated by the lengths Cathleen went to help heal her son and wondered, if I was in that situation, would I do the same?

Even though I was drawn in to the story, I wasn't rushing to finish it. I had an assumption of how it was likely to end and didn't want to get to that point of the story. This isn't the type of story to perk you up but it is one that will remind you of the love of your family, the wonder of life in heaven, and how important it is to have hope.

The author used multiple personal experiences to write this story and it makes it all the more interesting to the reader.

Mary Curran Hackett has written a novel that is utterly exceptional, And, it is relentlessly heart-wrenching in beauty. Through her ability to convey the troubles of womens' hearts, we understand how profoundly blessed and, yet, bereft we've been not to have known the mind of a child with recurrent dying episodes. If you are a mother who has experienced this heart-crushing thing, I can only shake my head and cry for you.

This story is profound in the content, and it's moving in the story-telling. I loved the book and urge you to take the time to travel the road discovering eloquent, but sometimes simple answers to the deepest questions and wounds of our hearts. Is there proof of heaven?

Colm Magee, like many children who live with life-threatening illnesses, has the mind and emotions far beyond his age. His mother, Cathleen, bears the larger burdens of feeling her child's pain/illness, helping him carry the unknown rejection of his abandoning father, and the consistent questions Colm has about "proof" of heaven. If you're a mother, you know exactly what bearing your child's pain means, so Ms Hackett digs deep in the telling...

It's through their emotions that "Proof of Heaven" takes us along with these beautiful characters: learning how to cope (or trying to) with Colm's near death experiences and the aftermaths, learning to bridge love, losses and friendships with doctors, learning to "come home" to rejecting husband and lost family, and healing the hurts that come with all of that; then, ultimately having Colm's knowledge that only comes at the end of life.

I was so moved, yet stricken with the magnitude of Ms Hackett's ability to express the feelings of her characters that I had to sit back and catch my breath. I cried and I was introspective. It was a wonder to me that this is her first book.

This book is what I'm talking about when I ask, "Where are some authors taking us these days in their writing?" Here was where I found some goodness and truth about living and dying. Here is where you'll find some honesty and reality about life and souls reaching out for each other.

I highly recommend this unforgettable novel to you. It's the other side of "Room"...it's the answer that some children and parents may have questions about. And, it's a story that will inspire you to think about the proof of heaven.

At the end of her book, Mary Curran Hackett has a section kindly giving more answers with special dedications for her book, why she wrote it, an interview and a book group guide. I rarely take the time to go over these sections in other books, frankly. In this book...I took the time. You should, too.

"Faith is the recognition of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1

Colm Francis Magee had died seven times before his seventh birthday. Cardiac arrest. Not to be mistaken for a heart attack in which clogged arteries prevent blood from reaching the heart and then the muscle withers. There was nothing wrong with Colm's strength of heart. No, Colm Francis Magee's heart simply and inexplicably stopped beating at the most inopportune moments.

And that is the beginning of Mary Curran Hackett's latest novel, Proof of Heaven. Wow! What does a parent do when faced with those overwhelming situations? You do what Cathleen Magee does as a single mom, you do whatever it takes to find the answers to what you son, suddenly with very little warning, has his heart stop beating and dies until they can revive him. After visiting so many doctors and compiling a massive medical file, no one has been able to successfully diagnosis the reason why this happens. Cathleen fears that if she doesn't find an answer soon, one of these times, Colm may never wake up again.

When she is referring to Dr. Gaspar Basu, she immediately notices quite a few things are different about him. For one, he is very young, mid thirties at least, well dressed and above all speaks very little to her but mostly to Colm. He is very tuned in to what he has to say, how he feels before his attacks happen and what he feels upon waking up. He immediately suggests that Colm receive a pacemaker to help keep his heart beating when his body refuses to do so on its own. Confused and bitter after making this suggestion after just a few minutes, Cathleen is doubtful that he knows what he is talking about especially when he has ordered no tests like all the others.

Asking for time to consider this option, she heads to talk to her brother Sean. Being able to offer very little as far as advice goes, Sean suggests that she do it, at least it may help keep him alive and offer a sense of normalcy that neither of them have now. It's only when Colm has another attack that leaves him "dead" for 10 minutes, Cathleen is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him alive, only she's not sure is Colm will have much brain function after being clinically dead that long.

I received this book compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and LOVED it. This book will completely grab the reader by the heart strings and never let go. You are caught between a mother's unconditional love to do whatever it takes to make sure her son doesn't die and Colm's strange notion that he understands more than he can tell his mom. He knows he isn't getting any better and is fearfull of what will happen to him "after." Hands down this one rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my personal opinion but a word of caution, once you begin this one, you'll be committed til the very end.

I was caught up in this book from the first page and couldn't put it down. I don't know anything about medicine, except for what I've learned through the years as a patient, and I didn't do any research to see if Colm's disorder was a real one, or if it was created by the author.

Either way, this incredible story about Colm, his mother Cathleen, uncle Sean and the physician, Dr. Basu, takes the reader on a journey filled with despair and hope. The only character in the book that I didn't care for was the Monsignor. I kept waiting for him to take advantage of Colm and Cathleen; I was waiting for the National Enquirer to show up on their doorstep, courtesy of the Monsignor. Thankfully, that didn't happen.

The only unbelievable part of the story was that Colm attended school, up until the end, and in his condition. How was that physically possible? And that Cathleen never cut his hair, it was long, down to his waist. Very odd. Just having hair like that would, IMO, draw the attention of bullies to Colm. They already bothered him and imitated his walk and speech. Poor kid, how could he have kept up with his school work, being in the hospital, taking the trip to Italy, etc.?

I believe in miracles, whether it's due to being raised Catholic or not, I do. If my child had a disease such as Colm's I might have tried anything within my power to find a cure, too. So, while Cathleen was torn between believing in everything and Colm, Sean and Dr. Basu didn't believe, I am not sure I would have dragged such an ill child to Italy.

I loved the ending - sorry, no spoiler alert here! Just that I loved the ending!!
It was an intriguing book - I'm looking forward to the next book that Mary Curran Hackett writes.

Religious undertones and metaphors abound in this tale of a terminally ill young boy who is searching for his father (are we all searching for OUR FATHER?). The biblical aspects of the story are evident in the representation of each character. Cathleen, the mother represents Mary, her brother Sean is a composite of Joseph (the foster-father) and John (a disciple), Dr. Gaspar Basu embodies the characteristics of the Magi bringing the gifts of wisdom, love and protection to the young Colm (Jesus?). Conversly, from a strictly earthly standpoint each person could be said to represent one of the elements. Pragmatic Dr. Basu is solid earth, the ever ebbing, flowing and evolving Cathleen is water, while angry, explosive Sean exudes fire, and Colm is the gently blowing wind that brings a quiet pleasure to our days.

Like many good people each of the characters struggle to understand the "why" of what has happened in their lives and their personal re-examination ultimately leads each to meaningful answers. In a lot of fiction, when someone is facing death it's all gloom and doom and there's a tendency to romanticize the anticipated event. The thing that keeps PROOF OF HEAVEN from sinking into a desperate sadness is Mary Curran Hackett's skilled depictions of love, be it maternal, familial and romantic. She is almost always successful in keeping her eye on a beautiful idea while holding despair at bay.

This novice writer has managed to create a special world designed for hope that brings readers to the realization that life is a journey, that everything you believe (or don't believe) can change in the blink of an eye and that sometimes heaven is a place of your own making.