All We Know of Heaven

All We Know of Heaven is about friendship and family. I started reading it yesterday and I’m over half done. This novel is, again, not the type I usually read but it got me hooked from page one I continued reading to simply find out what happened!

Bridget Flannery and Maureen O’ Malley are the best of friends. They never go anywhere without each over and they love each other like sisters. They are so similar that people can rarely tell the difference between them; same hair, same eyes, same height, same everything. While coming home from a cheerleading competition one snowy and slippery Christmas Eve, they get into a fatal head-on collision with a semi. The passenger is thrown from the window but still breathing and the driver is dead instantly. The damage to the bodies is so severe that the paramedics simply guess who is who.

For two months they THOUGHT Bridget was in a coma and Maureen was resting in peace. But when Bridget wakes up she starts saying weird things. Because of the brain damage it’s hard to tell what she is trying to get across but one nurse swears she’s saying “I’m Maureen”. Have they made a horrible mistake?

You have to see this story from both sides. This could be a miracle for one family and hell for the other. Could you imagine thinking your daughter had a fighting chance then finding out she’s been dead for months and is buried in someone else’s grave? But on the other hand, for Maureen’s family it’s like their daughter is back from the dead.

One line that Bridget’s mother, Kitt Flannery, said kind of described how she felt when she found out. She said ‘How could God play such a cruel joke?’ Both families are very religious so to the O’Malley’s it feels like God gave them a gift but for the Flannery’s, their faith is tested.
I’ve only experienced one death in my life so I can’t really relate to this story but it still gives me an excellent view on how both families are feeling and how Maureen in feeling. For example, the O’Malley’s are more than grateful their daughter is alive but the doctors are certain there will be quite a bit of brain damage and Maury will never be the same as the girl they raised. The whole family has to cope with that plus they are struggling with the hospital bills. The families used to be really close but now part of The Flannery’s hate the O’Malley’s, which of course is understandable because their baby had to die well the O’Malley’s got to live. Secretly Kitt is a tiny bit grateful because she sees how Maureen’s family is struggling and is partially grateful her daughter is at rest. The girl’s friends don’t know whether to be happy or sad. Their one friend is alive but the other is gone forever. One girl describes it as ‘Living through the death all over again’.

I have absolutely no idea how I would feel in this situation. I’m trying to put myself in the friend’s shoes and it feels almost unbearable. Would I be happy or sad? I love my friends equally and the choice is impossible to make.