Proof of Heaven: A Novel

by Mary Curran Hackett

Overview

A mother’s faith, a child’s courage, a doctor’s dedication—a moving and thought-provoking tale of hope, love, and family

He might be young, but Colm already recognizes the truth: that he’s sick and not getting better. His mother, Cathleen, fiercely believes her faith will protect her ailing son, but Colm is not so sure. With a wisdom far beyond his years, Colm has come to terms with his probable fate, but he does have one special wish. He wants to meet his father who abandoned his beloved mother before Colm was born.

But the quest to find the dying boy’s missing parent soon becomes a powerful journey of emotional discovery—a test of belief and an anxious search for proof of heaven.

A magnificent debut novel, Mary Curran Hackett’s Proof of Heaven is a beautiful and unforgettable exploration of the power of love and the monumental questions of life, death, and the afterlife.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062079992
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/17/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	338
Sales rank:	450,752
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mary Curran Hackett lives with her husband and children in Cincinnati, Ohio.

What People are Saying About This

Shelley Shepard Gray

“Proof of Heaven belongs on any keeper shelf...beautifully written, mesmerizing and tragic, thought-provoking, and a reaffirmation of faith. The story of a mother’s love for her son was touching...it was the tale of one boy’s search for heaven that brought me to tears. I loved this book.”

Editorial Reviews

At the center of Curran’s first novel is Colm Magee. Abandoned by his father before birth, much loved by Cathleen, his mother, Colm has a condition that eludes diagnosis: his heart stops beating without warning, and resuscitation is increasingly difficult. Medical science provides no answers until they come across Dr. Basu, who has lost a son of his own and who makes an immediate connection to Colm and Cathleen both. Dr. Basu pinpoints the diagnosis, one that provides no hope or treatment, and so Cathleen digs ever deeper into her religious convictions. But Colm, by the age of seven, has rejected the idea of God and heaven, a fact he doesn’t want to share with his mother. In Dr. Basu he finds a mind more like his own, though initially his mother’s not too sure. In Cathleen, Dr. Basu sees an example of “grief never ceasing to transform,” and indeed the focus on her struggle to reconcile faith and loss both overwhelms and undercuts an otherwise interesting premise that the author took from her own life. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Proof of Heaven belongs on any keeper shelf...beautifully written, mesmerizing and tragic, thought-provoking, and a reaffirmation of faith. The story of a mother’s love for her son was touching...it was the tale of one boy’s search for heaven that brought me to tears. I loved this book.” — Shelley Shepard Gray

“Proof of Heaven is a remarkable first novel that explores the intersections of science and religion, medicine and faith….Reminiscent of Carol Cassella’s recent work, this is an emotionally fulfilling, spiritually inviting, thought-provoking novel.” — Booklist

“A stirring and remarkable, life-affirming debut…Kudos to Hackett for presenting a real world, gritty yet soaring tale in which humans must make personal choices between hope and hopelessness...And rest assured that once you’ve finished...you may well look at life and its inevitable conclusion in a new way.” — New York Journal of Books

From the Publisher

A stirring and remarkable, life-affirming debut…Kudos to Hackett for presenting a real world, gritty yet soaring tale in which humans must make personal choices between hope and hopelessness...And rest assured that once you’ve finished...you may well look at life and its inevitable conclusion in a new way.

New York Journal of Books

Proof of Heaven belongs on any keeper shelf...beautifully written, mesmerizing and tragic, thought-provoking, and a reaffirmation of faith. The story of a mother’s love for her son was touching...it was the tale of one boy’s search for heaven that brought me to tears. I loved this book.

Shelley Shepard Gray

Proof of Heaven is a remarkable first novel that explores the intersections of science and religion, medicine and faith….Reminiscent of Carol Cassella’s recent work, this is an emotionally fulfilling, spiritually inviting, thought-provoking novel.

Booklist

Proof of Heaven is a remarkable first novel that explores the intersections of science and religion, medicine and faith….Reminiscent of Carol Cassella’s recent work, this is an emotionally fulfilling, spiritually inviting, thought-provoking novel.

Booklist

Seven-year-old Colm, who suffers from a disease that causes him to go into cardiac arrest, knows he is dying. His mother, a devout Christian, tries to find comfort in her faith, but Colm is not so sure that he even believes in God. But he has one wish—to find the father who abandoned him before he was born. VERDICT Colm's journey will move and charm readers who are also searching for answers to their own questions of faith. Hackett's lovely debut is a good choice for Melody Carlson devotees.

Library Journal

Does heaven exist? Are our loved ones waiting to reunite with us? Can near-death experiences offer proof? In Hackett's debut novel, everything hinges on an intriguing young boy, Colm, whose rare medical condition repeatedly causes him to die and return to life. Indeed, Colm physically manifests the dilemma each character in this novel faces: How can brain and heart, reason and faith, speak to each other? Except for Colm, the characters seem to have come from central casting. His mother, Cathleen, is a beautiful, self-sacrificing, long-suffering woman whose life revolves around her son. Lonely Cathleen carries on day after day in a dead-end job, worrying about her ill son, worrying about her brother (an alcoholic firefighter) and questioning whether science or God can heal her son. She has never recovered from being abandoned by Colm's father, Pierce, yet her persistent attention to Catholic ritual and unwavering attention to her son lead her to Dr. Basu. The last in a string of doctors, Gaspar Basu is, of course, the only doctor to take her son's condition seriously. Troubled by his own past, Gaspar is immediately attracted to Cathleen and concerned for Colm, because Gaspar feels responsible for his own son's death and his own wife's suicide. Cathleen and Colm offer Gaspar the chance to make amends with his past. Indeed, Colm's illness becomes the blessing in disguise that heals everyone around him...In the end, it is neither faith nor reason but love that saves everyone.

Kirkus Reviews