"Lord, have mercy." This was Alliette's simple but profound plea as she drove herself to the hospital. She had been standing in her kitchen doing dishes. . . . Her husband and older daughters were not at home. Suddenly she felt something like water running down her leg. Alliette knew what it meant, but she couldn't believe it. She was only twenty-two weeks along. . . . She decided to drive herself to the hospital. She soon regretted it. In these pages you will find five stories of babies born before their time, fifteen to eighteen weeks short of the nine months allotted to form a child. Written by Daniel Taylor from extensive interviews, each story arises out of the practice of Dr. Ronald Hoekstra at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You will enter the neonatal intensive care unit, a quietly crowded place of babies, doctors, nurses, parents and machines. A place of drama, heartache, waiting and joy. And a place where God is found. The questions raised by the stories of these smallest of infants are as large as life itself. What makes life worth living? What is the balance of medicine and faith? This book is not a collection of case studies but the stories of women, men and tiny children with whom we explore the meaning of life, death and faith. Here is a book to encourage and inspire, a book about both the struggle and joy of life. "In the high-tech intensive care nursery of a major American hospital, we meet six premature babies, their devoted parents and a praying doctor. Their miraculous stories told in Before Their Time remind us that the most important formula we can feed our children is faith." Diane M. Komp, M.D., author of Images of Grace: A Pediatrician's Trilogy of Faith, Hope & Love "Daniel Taylor is one of the finest writers of our age. . . . The stories read like mysteries of grace which rivet us to the seasons of our own lives that feel premature and incomplete. What I learned not only brought me to tears of joy but to a deeper passion for the glorious timing of God's plan in my life." Dan B. Allender, coauthor of The Cry of the Soul English professor Taylor and Hoekstra, a physician at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, tell the stories of six infants born after only some 22 weeks' gestation, their parents, and the staff, primarily the nurses, of the neonatal intensive-care unit that treated them. Faith played a major role in dealing with the many crises of the infants' lives as well as in their parents' views of their children, their families, and their religions. Although one infant died and at least two were left with physical or mental damage, miracles happened in all of the babies' stories, and the adults involved, lay and medical, learned much about themselves and their diverse roles in life. Taylor and Hoekstra's moving account of experiences that remain indelible for all those involved in them isn't for those skeptical of the comfort, support, and hope that firm religious belief can provide. Yet even skeptics should consider their provocative query, "When are we doing things to the baby instead of for the baby?" William Beatty Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Who are these children born before their time? In this book you'll meet Lamarre, whose mother saw his long list of problems as an opportunity to keep track of miracles Simon, whose parents yearned for the day he could go home only to fear the day he left the hospital, when he would no longer be supported by the machines that had sustained him since birth B.J., whose sweet disposition showed through his medical problems and charmed his caregivers Blake, who was given up on more times than a skid row bum and yet never gave up his own interest in living Anna and Liam, twins who inspired a whole community Each of these children will surprise and delight you with their unique personality and story--and their special talent for life. "The intimate stories of families at their most vulnerable will touch your heart. The neonatology intensive care unit is a place where pain and love intersect, and you will be surprised by what these precarious children teach us." Max De Pree, author of Leadership Is an Art and Dear Zoe "The fragility of the infant lives depicted in Before Their Time reminds us of the transitory nature of life--but also of the illusory nature of death. This is an unusual book because it deals with regions of uncertainty and loss that we rarely encounter in contemporary Christian literature. It reads like a cello sonata." Frederica Mathewes-Green Daniel Taylor, Ph.D., is married and the father of four children. He is a professor of English at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the author of The Myth of Certainty, The Healing Power of Stories and Letters to My Children. Ronald Hoekstra, M.D., is a neonatologist at the Children's Hospital and Clinic--Minneapolis, specializing in the care of sick and premature newborns. Ron is married and the father of t