sad, but uplifting too...

Wow, this book, "One Summer" by David Baldacci was so unbelievably good, sad too.  I even cried and I hardly ever do that for a book.

The book is about Jack Armstrong, who has terminal illness.  He is given very little time and is trying to find a way to deal with that.  His wife goes out to pick up some medicine for him and is killed in a car crash.  Jack's kids are taken away, split up and cared for by family and he is placed in hospice while he waits for his life to come to an end.  But then Jack starts to get better.  Doctors cannot explain it, but the disease he had is gone and he is given a clean bill of health.

Jack then gets all the kids back, moves from Ohio to South Carolina where his wife grew up.  He strives to become a better person and a better father.  He  is stunned when his mother-in-law sues Jack for custody of the kids because she thinks him an unfit parent.

I found this to be a story of love, loss, hope and the strong ties of family love.