This quote comes from the book I just finished called The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural and the Healing Power of Hope, by Allan Hamilton, a neurosurgeon. I read this book because my dear friend’s daughter, who is also a friend, has been diagnosed with brain cancer and has lost much of her ability to function. Accompanying her on this journey has given her beloved family and friends the joy of her presence, for she is a being who radiates divine compassion. The poet and essayist Ross Gay says it best: “Sorrow and delight walk hand in hand, always.” This young woman's beloveds are sorrowful about what is happening to her, but, as she expresses to them, when [...]