Adversity may be a part of everyone’s experience. For most of us, it is just something to endure – to get through. But Ken Hekman took a different approach when faced with one of life’s most profound sorrows, the sudden death of his firstborn, a teenage daughter. By choosing to make adversity his teacher rather than simply his tormenter, he unearthed profound insights about life – and death – that will change you forever. His gripping honesty and soul-touching articulation give new meaning to the challenges of everyday life and new hope for those trapped in despair. Even non-poets can appreciate his poetic style, and his prose flows like a stream to both cleanse and to refresh.

But Treasures offers much more than the lamentations of a grieving father. It also gives us a glimpse of the profound impact one young life can have on a worldwide community, and it maps a journey through four stages from being afraid to die, to not being afraid to live again. It serves as a guidebook for others who face adversity of all kinds, and illuminates a path toward renaissance like no other artistic work.