Pall of Silence

Author: Eleanor Bertin
Genre: Memoir

​Dearly beloved -- that's what the obituaries say -- never hinting at the conflict, shame or sin that lie behind the veil. In October 2012, Paul, the author's 18-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking home from an evening performing with his punk rock band. Amid the grief of loss, she is burdened over his life that seemed to beheaded in the wrong direction and their strained relationship. Dogged by grief, guilt, b lame and shame, she relives every memory searching for that conclusive evidence that he did after all, belong to Christ. Clinging to the Biblical doctrines of grace, the truth she knows wrestles with the longing of her heart. Can she trust God, with even this?

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

Gut-wrenching, and heartbreaking in its honesty, Pall of Silence: My Journey from Tragedy to Trust by Eleanor Bertin is a story no mother wants to tell, the tragic story of the death of her son, Paul.

From the beginning, Eleanor's story will grip you as she recounts the story of the hit-and-run accident that took her eighteen-year-old son Paul. Her account, from the day the police showed up on her door, to the subsequent trial and the questions that plagued her about Paul's eternal destiny, left this reader wondering if she would be as generous in her forgiveness of a ruthless crime.

The unanswered questions that plagued the author in regards to Paul's final moments were brought on by his apparent rejection of God, by embracing the Punk Rock movement. Her lack of understanding of the movement had her grasping for any information on his eternal state. Her journey through despair took her to the feet of her Saviour and her Bible where she found the solace she so desperately needed.

If you are a Christian whose children have rejected your beliefs, this book may bring you the comfort you seek. I know it did for me.

​This one is a keeper.

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