Holy Saturday
A Memoir of Loss and Hope
A balanced, gradual unveiling of heartbreak, Holy Saturday is a memoir about the loss of a son.
Gary S. Hauk’s heartfelt memoir Holy Saturday is about grieving, and healing from, his sixteen-year-old son’s sudden death.
When Hauk’s son, Thomas, was diagnosed with Addison’s disease, his family was fast to make accommodating lifestyle changes. Nevertheless, Thomas went into cardiac arrest near his sixteenth birthday and fell into a coma for the remaining forty-five days of his life. Twenty years later, Hauk draws on correspondence and journal entries from the days after Thomas was admitted to the hospital through the months after his death to explore his anguish and guilt in vulnerable terms; a friend, for example, mused that “this is the human condition, only you are experiencing it in its pure, unrelieved form.” Recommendations for others enduring similar hardships are also shared.
The book is split into three parts, segmenting the period leading up to Thomas’s cardiac arrest, his time in a coma, and life after his passing. Centering the stages of grief (Hauk notes “Grief is a character in this story”) and working to honor Thomas’s memory, it covers feelings of futility, uncertainty, and ambiguity throughout. Indeed, Hauk is a forthcoming narrator, revealing his emotions in an honest way, as when he asserts “We have to find ways to anesthetize ourselves against the harsh realities that are all around us.”
Emails, personal reflections, and medical updates support the book’s points as it moves toward a balanced, gradual unveiling of heartbreak, with multiple references to Bible passages and psalms personalizing its perspective further. Journal entries from after Thomas’s death epitomize the heavy sorrow Hauk felt, soothed by thoughts about God, heaven, and life after death. Moments of levity are included for balance, as are celebrations of Thomas’s character and personality. For instance, Thomas not waking from a coma was like a “deep tuning out” and “so like a teenager.”
While recognizing that each experience of loss is unique, the book takes a subtle approach in offering advice for healing using Hauk’s personal experiences as an example. Commonsense actions are illustrated throughout, including introspection through journaling, making regular connections with one’s family and friends, and maintaining routines for self-care, as when Hauk attends an evening outdoor concert with friends or takes time to exercise. The text also intimates that the passage of time is an additional healing modality.
An intimate memoir, Holy Saturday is about grieving the loss of a son and working toward acceptance and solace.
Reviewed by
Katy Keffer
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
