Shortly after the birth of their twin sons, Groneberg and her husband were told that one of their sons had down syndrome.  Road Map to Holland tells of their first two years as a family.  A book every parent should read.  Well written and honest.

When Dr. Henry delivers his own twins, he discovers that his daughter has Down Syndrome. Trying to spare his wife’s feelings, he sends the baby to an institution, and tells his wife that the baby has died. But his daughter is not brought to the institution. Instead, she thrives in the loving home of Dr. Henry’s nurse. Meanwhile, the doctor’s decision causes more pain for his family than he could possibly have imagined.

Cody and Ally fall in love, in spite of their resolve to stay focused on their work. The problem is that Ally has cystic fibrosis, and the prognosis isn’t good.

This was a very typical romance book — nothing too special, and probably not worth my time. There was one point of interest for me though. I’ve read all of Kingsbury’s previous books, and they’ve all been very “Christian” — to the point of being nauseating. The main characters all have this vibrant relationship with God, and he always speaks to them in plain, audible English. This book didn’t use that particular literary device, which was fine with me. But the main characters also weren’t overtly Christian. There were the themes of trust, forgiveness, sacrifice, etc., and God was mentioned a few times very casually, but that’s all. No salvation plan. No conversions. No church services. No long talks about faith. I’m not saying that in order for a book to be Christian, those elements need to be there. But it’s such a noticeable switch from Kingsbury’s other books, it makes me wonder what’s going on.