Beauty in Bent Grass by Ruth Ada Clark 977.7 Cla

This is a short, but very touching book. It is written by the mother of Christian John Clark. Christian was originally his middle name, but his parents changed it because John Clark is too common of a name and they were afraid there would be a mix-up in the hospital. And there were many trips to the hospital. Christian was a hemophiliac who grew up in Northeast Iowa. It is really unfair that I wrote that sentence. I should have first of all said that he was a boy of uncommon courage, a wonderful brother and son, and a very talented photographer. He didn't want to be know as 'the hemophiliac'. The suffering caused by that disorder is unbelievable. Then add to that the fact that he was HIV positive because this was all happening before the medical world knew to look out for tainted blood. There are lots of things that could have caused the demise of Christian. He died young (in his 20's) - but not of illness or disease. A car accident. Now decades later his mom uses some of her son's journals and her own memories to write the story of Christian. The title of the book comes from something he pointed out to his mother when he was taking pictures of things that she thought were ugly. He pointed out that there is even beauty in bent grass. You can't help but be inspired by this young man.