Receiving David: a boy, his family and his church

By Kurt Armstrong and ChristianWeek | February 28, 2011

This heartbreaking, beautiful little book reminds me of Henri Nouwen and Jean Vanier's books about living in L'Arche communities, only this time, the story is told by a mother. David, the title character of the book, was born 14 weeks premature. Medical staff wrapped him up in a blanket, handed him to his parents and said he wouldn't live more than a couple hours. David's early hours without any medical intervention left him with serious physical and intellectual disabilities, but he lived 22 rich, love-filled years.

Faye Knol, the author, is David's mother, and this book is saturated with her deep love for her son. It's filled with the kind of details any mother might offer in response to the question, How are the kids?" She writes honestly about the challenges of caring for David - the endless medical decisions, helping him with basic self-care, dealing with his tantrums - and about the beautiful, particular joys that David brought into their family.

David was known and deeply loved by his faith community, the group of people who helped care for him and his family over the years and through his death. What seems like mostly one family's story is also a story about a church working together in real struggles of everyday life.

In the end, we found we needed the help of friends and family during those last two days to be able to release David," writes Faye. It was more than we could do alone." From his mother's unsentimental account, it seems that those who knew David saw in him that life is truly a miracle.

Receiving David is a simple, close-up look at a boy, his family and their Christian community, their deep struggles, joys, profound grief and enduring hope. It avoids the preachiness and Christian cliches that sometimes bog down Christian stories like this. It's an example of a good and truthful story told well, a straight story, making it intimate and weighty. Reading it broke my heart in a holy way.