The Simple Plan

My eyes were tearing up, and I was only on the dedication page. It’s horrible to imagine a family enduring the loss of their 9-year-old boy to leukemia, and part of me didn’t want to keep reading. But having known about author Georgia Alvarez’s story since 1993, after she founded Wings of Eagles: The Joseph Alvarez foundation for seriously ill children, I wanted to push on. This is the first book by the woman whom Chicoans may have seen beaming at the frequent local fundraisers for her nonprofit. Alvarez tells of her often agonizing journey in a sincere, unpretentious way. Revealing much personal info about her family’s struggles, she guides the narrative toward a path of healing and a journey to faith. If you’re someone who believes miracles are happening around us, even in times of unimaginable pain, you’ll love this book. And even if you don’t agree with her conclusions, the book—subtitled A Book of Hope/A Book of Dreams—shows the reader a way to interpret devastating circumstances. From Alvarez’s personal revelations, she synthesizes a program to ease the suffering of those going though what her family did. In that way, she also keeps her son and his memory alive, some 20 years after his passing. Grab a box of tissues and dive in.