Fifty-Seven Fridays is a candid, intimately courageous memoir that details how the terminally ill baby daughter of first-time author Myra Sack and her husband, Matt, left an indelible mark in the world--defining the fragility of life and the sacred nature of love.
In 2011, Myra, a "Philly girl," met Matt, a "Cali boy," in San Francisco. The years of their romance--falling in love, moving to Boston, and marrying in 2016--culminated when, on September 4, 2018, they welcomed their first child, a "beautiful. Perfect, actually," baby daughter, Havi, into the world. Amid the joy and adulation of the birth, no one could foresee how, a year later, Havi's health would drastically change the focus and meaning of the family's existence.
Havi was ultimately diagnosed with Tay-Sachs, a progressively debilitating, terminal neurological disease in children that destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Knowing Havi's time on earth was limited--children with Tay-Sachs live only two to four years--heartbroken Myra and Matt vowed to squeeze every "ounce of beauty and love" into Havi's short life. Relying on Jewish tradition, Myra and Matt also decided to celebrate every Friday night sabbath, also known as Shabbat, as a joyful birthday party or "Shabbirthday" for Havi, family, and friends.
These weekly gatherings proved life-affirming and gratitude-producing. Slice-of-life episodes and meditative journal entries oozing with raw emotion detail myriad aspects of the family's profound, grace-filled journey through grief, sadness, and loss. Sack's inspirational narrative beautifully preserves and pays tribute to Havi's short life and the love that continues to endure--and ripple out to others--in her wake. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines