Songs for Ivy

On her 16th birthday, Ivy is shocked to receive a personal journal written by her late brother Jake who died when she was an infant. In it, she slowly learns of a young man's ultimate acceptance of the life he is dealt-just a short time on earth and an opportunity to experience true unconditional love for his mother and those around him.

Through it all, Ivy discovers Jake's strength as he composes songs and poetry for his beloved sister so she can get to know him-a hero who faces his feelings and accepts his heartbreaking destiny with grace. Jake, indeed, lived a full life, opening his heart to the possibility of transcending death to be Born A New Man.

Yet amid the tribulations and the suffering, the story offers tender accounts of the development of young love, true friendship, fears of abandonment, questions of faith and religion, anxiety, grief, guilt, self-blame, betrayal and hopelessness.

In the end, Songs for Ivy is a touching and enlightening perspective on topics such as childhood and terminal cancer, alcoholism, drug addiction, work addiction, morbid obesity, family dysfunction, end-of-life issues, love and complex family relations all rolled together to reveal the complexity of the human soul.