The Opposite of Certainty: Fear, Faith, and Life in Between

Writer Reid’s carefully crafted, comfortable, suburban family life was upended abruptly when her younger son began to show vague signs of neurological impairment. Gradually, 13-year-old Mason’s headaches and tremors were recognized as the symptoms of a complex brain tumor and the hard-fought equilibrium sought by Reid was disturbed beyond her ability to repair. As her family life was disrupted in ways large and small, all of the coping strategies Reid developed during her own turbulent upbringing fell short when it came to controlling her new circumstances, and she was faced with approaching life from a different perspective. By turns amusing and affecting, this account of one woman’s journey to acceptance—if not understanding—provides a graceful meditation on finding refuge in what is already in front of you rather than fighting to create your own reality.