By Fiona Castle
Hodder & Stoughton. 143 pages. £9.99
ISBN 0 340 70986 4
This is a wonderful little book. Fiona Castle, widow of Roy Castle, has produced an anthology of poems, prose, hymns, thoughts and Bible verses which helped her through her time of grief and have given her hope and a new perspective.
You could question the point of a book which, with the exception of some paragraphs of explanation by Fiona, is full of writings that are already in print, but that would indicate that you had never picked it up. I found the book inspirational. The sure and secure faith of the author shines through the pages. At no point is it trite or platitudinous, nor does it attempt an in-depth systematic theology of the problem of suffering. Instead, it shares the hope of someone who has suffered deeply but not grown cold or cynical. Indeed, the reality of a faith that has not just endured but has conquered personal loss permeates the book.