The Color of Rain

Sometimes I don't quite know why I keep selecting sad, depressing books. The Color of Rain by Michael and Gina Spehn is one I wasn't even sure I could start when I read the inside flap. The first line states that two childhood friends die of cancer within weeks of each other. Because of my own experience with cancer, I just was not sure I wanted to read a book like this, and initially I thought the two friends were children that had died. I was somewhat relieved to find out that the two people who died were adults, married with children. (Although why that is comforting, I am not sure).

This is a book about Gina Kell and her husband Matthew and his battle with cancer. And it is a book about Michael Spehn and his wife Cathy's battle with an aggressive brain tumor. It is also a book about the two remaining spouses, Gina and Michael, and there relationship. Initially it began as a friendship as they dealt with their grief and being a single parent. Eventually they fall in love and marry. This is also a book about their faith and the faith of their first spouses.

The Color of Rain was uplifting and not the sad story I anticipated. Yes, there were very sad parts. Reading about Matt and Cathy's battles with cancer, their having to say goodbye to their children was devastating to read about. But their faith in God's plan never wavered.

Michael and Gina have gone on to honor the memory of their spouses, creating a foundation to support other children who lose a parent to cancer.