Martha Beck, a Harvard grad student, has just discovered that she is pregnant, again.
While living in a small apartment just off campus, Martha and her husband, John, are already struggling to raise their 18 month old Katie, juggling homework, and trying to manage each other's hectic schedules and thriving careers all at the same time. But they can handle another child. They can make room for the baby in the apartment. Everything will be perfectly fine.
During Martha's first pregnancy, she was completely cursed with morning sickness 24/7. This time around is heading in that same direction. Except this time she is even more sick than before, and she constantly has to skip classes and schedule doctor appointments. Martha was sick before, but not this sick.
After several painful visits to the doctor's office, a blood test finally reveals that the baby, their baby boy, has down syndrome. The Becks' family members, colleages and classmates suggest terminating the pregnancy, but Martha and John can't do such a thing. They know that this baby is a miracle, a gift like all of God's creations. This baby may have down syndrome, but that doesn't make him any less of a human being at all. He's more than that.
As the pregnancy progresses, Martha encounters what she calls, "the seeing thing." During these experiences, she actually "sees" events that are happening in different places of the world or even just below their apartment. She can actually smell, hear, and taste the environment that her senses transport her to. Being the logical college-grad that she is, Martha tries to dismiss these experiences as dreams, but they continue to occur so vividly that she begins to doubt her own judgement.
Many other extraordinary experiences happen to Martha during her pregnancy with her baby boy, Adam, whose name just came to her from nowhere in particular. From being pushed out of their burning apartment building by an invisible spirit to being totally unharmed in a car accident, the Becks' soon discover that anything is possible.
Expecting Adam is a wonderful, witty memoir that proves that whether you believe in angels or not, miracles do happen. This book will enlighten its readers, and certainly keep them intrigued with a few laughs thrown in along the way. Martha and her family's experience with Adam is a truly remarkable and emotional journey. Expecting Adam is sure to inspire everyone who reads it.
When you fall in love, you would do anything to be there for that special someone, even if they were a hundred, a thousand, or a million miles away. Long-term relationships can work from a distance. There are lots of forms of communication: e-mail, telephone, writing. You can make time to talk every day even if you can't physically see each other. You can make it last right?
In Dear John, by Nicholas Sparks, John Tyree and Savannah Curtis have to hold on to their love by continuing their long-distance relationship.
Rebel John drops out of school to join the army, leaving behind his only family member, his quiet and reserved father. Despite the fact that John and his father are complete opposites, he still regrets leaving him alone in North Carolina. So when he returns, he's determined to try everything to form a more solid relationship with his dad.
After a long day's surf in the ocean, John spots four college kids on the dock. One of the girls is yelling for her friends to help her save her bag that was knocked into the water. John can tell that her friends don't care so much about her bag, so he decides to do his good deed for the day and save the bag. Savannah's bag.
As a reward for saving all her valuables, Savannah invites John along with her to their beach cottage. Several other college students are staying there as well, to work on their Habitat for Humanity project. John agrees and their connection is instantly made.
John and Savannah continue to spend as much time as possible together. However, Savannah works during the days on the construction site at the same time John's father is at work. As soon as Savannah is finished, John spends time with her at night, while his father is alone at home. On his break from the Army, John really wanted to become closer to his father. He was determined to make this happen. Savannah, being the pure, caring, loving person that she is, sees this when John speaks of his father. She can see that they've never really been that close, and John's father is difficult to talk to as well. So she asks John if she can meet his father. This way John can be with her and his dad at the same time. This only strengthens the bond between John and his father, and John and Savannah.
Soon, John has to return to the Army, and Savannah has to follow her peers back to school. As quickly as their adventure begins, it ends, but their love continues despite their distance. They write love letters to each other every single day, and John phones her from his base whenever he can. He doesn't have that much time left in the service. He plans to settle down with Savannah as soon as he gets out, and she wants to marry him and start a family as well, but when 9/11 comes around, John has no choice but to fight for his country.
More years pass that John and Savannah are apart, and the letters begin to come less frequently. Until the very last one..
Another brilliant novel by Nicholas Sparks, Dear John proves that not every negative thing said about long-distance relationships are true, and sometimes, opposites really do attract. This book is all about love, family, and determination. This book proves that love can stand through the toughest times, whether it be a relationship between a man and a woman, or between father and son. With love, anything is possible.
During Martha's first pregnancy, she was completely cursed with morning sickness 24/7. This time around is heading in that same direction. Except this time she is even more sick than before, and she constantly has to skip classes and schedule doctor appointments. Martha was sick before, but not this sick.
