RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewLanier’s writing is clean and beautiful ... In this story of her rare girl, Lanier shines a clear light on what we sign up for when we allow a human soul to come through us and into the world, in whatever \'interesting and beautiful package\' that soul might find ... Lanier teases out the glory, charm and humor of these moments, letting us adore her child with her ... Refreshingly, Lanier’s husband, Justin, an Episcopal priest, is given room to demonstrate the ways in which practicing a religion prepares one usefully for a crisis. His training in Christian contemplative prayer and Zen meditation gives him strength that Lanier both leans on and is grateful for. As mother and writer, she draws on a liberal, questioning but questing faith, and brings to both vocations the humane message of Christ on his cross and Siddhartha’s 49 days beneath the Bodhi tree: You, my beloved child, are worth this much … and more.
