Customer Reviews

Two Sons Twice Born

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This book is such an inspiration especially to those of us who have had the misfortune of losing a child. I, do believe, it is the most tragic loss of all. The author had such a strong faith in God already but found herself not able to control things as she would like them to be. She had to give in to God & let him lead the way. I could feel the emotions she was trying to express as I read the book & could not put it down until the last page was finished. I think it is a wonderful read and will help many people as they travel through life as bad things do happen to good people.

Recently, readers have enjoyed a slew of memoirs coming from members of the World War II generation, such as William Oscar Austin Jr.'s Gone But Not Forgotten. These autobiographies are notable for several reasons. One especially prominent reason is that the authors all present warts-and-all portrayals of their lives, a far cry from the romanticism that is often alluded to the members of this remarkable generation.

Two Sons Twice Born by Georgia author Hilda Atkins Moore ads to this list. Whereas Austin's memoir concentrates on overcoming sin, Moore's book examines how an individual goes on living in a harsh world. Indeed, Moore's has been a tough one. As a little girl, her beloved father dies. Her brother, Clyde, fights in World War II, and goes MIA. Eventually, he returns home, but only after a hellish stint in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp. Later, as an adult, her outgoing son Reyn has a swimming accident. He finally dies at age forty after years of being in a vegetative state. Her other son, Tom, perishes as well at age thirty-six. A cultured, superbly educated doctor, Tom succumbs from an HIV-related illness. There would be other tragedies and misfortunes as well.

It sounds like a sad, difficult narrative, but it isn't as dreary as one might think. Moore graphically and poetically describes the good times as well. She takes comfort in all of the joys she has experienced, such as Sunday dinners complete with homemade fried chicken and sweet tea, her many close siblings (she's the youngest of ten children), and her trips to Hawaii and the Holy Land. Above all, she takes comfort in her Christian beliefs. At times, it's fun to read this book, in part to her unpretentious, simple writing style. She herself makes the book enjoyable. Throughout the work, Moore comes across as being sunny, friendly, affable, and genuine. She is especially likable when she discusses Tom's homosexuality. As an evangelical, she has misgivings about that lifestyle. Nevertheless, she treats her son with the utmost kindness. It's moving and inspirational without being maudlin.

Some readers might find her Christian belief system to be simplistic. She regards her many tragedies as being all parts of God's will. Never does she attempt to explain why God allows good people to suffer. Her strong faith even hurts her own narrative from time to time. Following each tragedy, she instantly turns to her faith in God. Yes, this is wonderful, but it tends to make Moore an aloof, pristine presence in her own memoir. One wishes that she had expressed her own doubts and vulnerabilities more often; such expressions make a book's central figure more endearingly human.

Like all books, Moore's Two Sons Twice Born has its perceived imperfections. Still, it's a great book coming from a fascinating woman who has many stories to tell. It would make an excellent addition to any book collection.


---Jonathan Maxwell, the author of Murderous Intellectuals: German Elites and the Nazi SS

Two Sons Twice Born inspires strength, acceptance, love, trust, faith, and healing in those who read it. It had to be painful for Hilda Atkins Moore to pen this book. She had to relive so much tragedy, but by so doing, she is inspiring others with burdens that may seem insurmountable, as well as those seeking a greater understanding of our spiritual journey on this Earth. Hilda is humble, giving all glory to God. This story of spiritual growth through good times and tragedy leaves the reader with a greater determination to endure, love, and overcome.

Two Sons Twice Born is an inspirational memoir. It's about the most dreaded event that can happen to a parent--losing a child. Except in this case the loss was even more devastating because the loss was not one, but two. Then the book goes on to reveal "God's grace-filling coping tools."
What's extraordinary about the book is the author's faith and her finally receiving unquestioned faith during her extreme grief, as she writes about the final days in the lives of her two wonderful sons, Reyn and Tom.
It is about the author finding her way into situations which almost defy endurance as she journeys through her two son's final days, with a lot of timely flashbacks into their childhood and their many accomplishments as they grew up.
Besides being a memoir, it is also about how the author finally allows herself to give in to God's will, with a wonderful message to others who experince grief and tragedy.
Ted M. Dunagan, author of A Yellow Watermelon.

Hilda Atkins Moore took several years to write TWO SONS TWICE BORN, a true story of her two sons who passed away in tragic ways, but the result is worth the wait.
The book is a relatively quick read at 114 pages but its emotional and spiritual weight is far more impactful than the book's length.
One of the marks of a good book to me is reading a chapter, then wanting to go back and re-read it, to make sure you absorb all the nuances, the atmosphere, the flow. Two Sons Twice Born is that kind of book.
Both sons had extraordinary qualities and led lives altered and cut short by tragedy.
It was how Hilda and her husband, then Hilda alone, coped with all that she has had hit her that will inspire you and help you understand real faith.

This Book Review is by Joe Hiett, Managing Editor, The Daily-Tribune News, Cartersville, Ga.

What an incredible and awesome inspiration this book is! Whether you read a chapter a week or complete it in an afternoon, this book will fill your soul and heart with love and peace, knowing that all we do and all we endure is being watched over by a loving God. This author, the beautiful woman she is, has revealed to her audience her own trials and tribulations and how her walk with God and faith in His love were with her and her family during their lives. As much a gift as God's love is, this book too should be shared with others. Perfect for those with a strong faith in God and for those who question their own fortitude and misfortunes in times of darkness and faith-testing. Thank you for sharing your life and your family and your faith in God!

The author's faith & trust in God even while dealing with more tragedy than any one family could possibly bear is inspirational. A quick read but touching and complex the author gives us what has lead her to lead a life as an example to us all.