Tea at Trianon: It Doesn't End Here

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, August 7, 2011

It Doesn't End Here

"Blessed is she who without dying has won the martyr's crown." — from Vespers of Our Lady of Sorrows

It Doesn't End Here by Dawn Marie Roeder is an extraordinary chronicle which I read in one sitting; I simply could not put it down. The beautifully composed and heartrending memoir describes the horrific death of Mrs. Roeder's darling two year old son Nathaniel, her only child, in a car accident. The accident was the result of the side effects of a prescription medication for ADHD, a medication which is known to occasionally induce a psychotic state. Mrs. Roeder, as the unwitting victim of a failure of the medical profession, faced a journey to hell and back again. Interwoven with Scripture passages about the Seven Sorrows of Mary, the book confronts the reality of evil and how innocent people are hurt by it. Holding on to the hope of Heaven and eternity becomes the compass which guides the author back from the abyss.

Mrs. Roeder writes with honest clarity, from the heart, which make the power of the emotions she describes all the more poignant. With many twists, turns and flashbacks, the book reads like a mystery novel in the way that the layers are slowly peeled back to expose the truth. Anyone who has ever suffered a loss will identify with the pain described and find new hope as well. Most of all, a special little boy lives in the pages of the book; he comes to life so one can see him as he was, while knowing that he has a mission which he is even now fulfilling from Heaven.

Not only is the book an awe-inspiring witness to faith but it reveals the insidiousness of the pharmaceutical industry. Mrs. Roeder found herself in a fierce battle with a drug company as she struggled to keep other families from being destroyed by the same medication, still on the market. Some earthly battles we are not meant to win, but for those who love God there is a spiritual victory in each outward failure. Because of the way the author and her family are attacked when they dare to seek justice for Nathaniel, every American should read It Doesn't End Here. People need to see for themselves what could happen to any of us at the hands of those who love money more than they fear God or man.

(*NOTE: It Doesn't End Here was sent to me by the author in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Share

2 comments:

Nancy Reyes said...: I am against all the medicines given to kids with mild ADHD, just as I am against the mass move to diagnose all brain damaged kids as "autistic".

ADHD is bad, and most cases now given medicine can cope without it, but like anxiety or depression or OCD, in severe cases the medicines allow a person to live a more normal life.

Unless you have seen a true ADHD child I would suggest you talk to a parent or grandparent (many I treated were with grandparents since the ADHD was from Fetal Alcohol syndrome and mother lost custody of the child).

The "Blame the doctors for the medicine" and the similar "blame the vaccines" hysteria of the modern day is similar to the witch hunt hysteria of the past. It lets the parents let go of their "guilt" while blaming others as evil.

So is this a "heartwrenching book" or propaganda of a guilt ridden mom who projects her own guilt on another?

and the bad news is that such hysteria is becoming more and more common on "catholic" blogs. Does this portent a Catholic conservative think to be "religious" means to reject reason and science?; August 7, 2011 at 9:27:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Boinky, you should read the book before drawing such harsh conclusions. No, being "religious" does not mean to reject reason and science. Was I saying that? I don't think so. The child was not ADHD. The mother has ADHD and the drug she took has a side effect of causing hallucinations. When the doctor increased the dosage the poor woman was plunged into a psychotic state without being aware of what was happening to her. She smashed up her car with her baby in it, not knowing what she was doing. The baby was killed. Her doctor had not warned her of the possible dangerous side effects. NO ONE has reproached herself more for the accident than the poor mother of the dead baby. She is NOT projecting her guilt on another. You should read the book before making such a crass and cruel statement.; August 7, 2011 at 9:51:00 PM EDT