Now that we’ve all calmed down and heard Vice President Cheney admit that the day he peppered his friend with birdshot was one of the worst of his life, I have a book to recommend. It’s called “The Blessing,” and it was written several years ago by Gregory Orr,
a professor of English at the University of Virginia (my alma mater). When Orr was twelve, he accidentally shot and killed his eight-year-old brother on a fateful father-son hunting trip. As you might imagine, Orr was haunted by this incident for decades, finding meaning in his existence only when he became a writer. But even then, it was tough. I eagerly read this book when it first appeared in 2002 because I knew a fair number of Orr’s students in college who spoke of the hunting mishap in compassionate, hushed whispers. Also, the book’s title reference to a blessing led me to think I could interview Orr for Beliefnet, and find the inspirational message behind the trauma to share with readers. In the end, however, hard as I looked, I really couldn’t find the blessing in “The Blessing.” I even wondered if Orr’s publisher had placed an upbeat title on this tortured, honest, painful memoir as a way to sell copies.

That’s what I found myself thinking, anyway. You can explore this fine book for yourself. And now it’s timely.