The River of Life and The Tree of Healing are timeless stories of two generations of children whose suffering is transformed in Christ. Reflecting themes of the Precious Blood and of the Eucharist, the compilation includes the art and poetry composed by each child in their contemplation of Scripture. The River of Life: Twelve-year-old Anthony is carefree until his beloved father passes away. Questioning suffering and death, Anthony grows distant from God. A heaven-sent friend helps him to see God’s tender providence within the ebb and flow of life, in currents of loss and restoration, and in the living stream of Christ’s Blood. While trying to find the burial site of martyrs and searching for treasures they hid, he finds a hidden treasure that was before him all along: Christ Crucified. Anthony comes to understand what his father meant by his last words to him, that he would always find him in the Heart of Christ, open at the cross. When Anthony pours himself out for God, water springs up from the earth as a personal sign of the pouring out of Christ’s Heart in a great river of life. The Tree of Healing: Rose spends much of her time dwelling on her troubles. She lives in a state of worry and loneliness as her mother has been harsh and distant since the death of her father when she was an infant. One golden summer, as she leaves her childhood years, her grandmother and a heaven-sent friend teach her to bring everything in her life to God in prayer and to bring His Life into her own. She comes to know and trust Him deeply, especially when she discovers a carving made by her father in a great tree that forms the crucifix of a Rosary Garden. Hidden in its depths and unfolding in layers of mystery and beauty, signs of God's Love are continuously revealed to her. A Mary’s Garden that she plants reflects her own growth in a living faith that brings a garden of souls with her to God, including her mother. The Tree of Healing tells of the healing of one young girl and of all wounded humanity by the Sacrifice of Jesus on a new Tree of Life. The Tree of Healing is a wonderful means for holding a young girl's imagination while building within her heart and religious sensitivity that desire for holiness and compassion so needed in our times. I am happy to recommend Mrs. Tabbaa's book and particularly to the young audience for which it is destined. What is more, The Tree of Healing is made the more agreeable by the many poems and beautiful illustrations which help to develop its deeper message. -Dom Daniel Augustine, Prior, Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem A timeless story of family and faith-lost and found- The Tree of Healing is fiction that uplifts as it entertains. Author Diana Tabbaa has woven a compelling tale that will draw you in and leave you inspired. -Lisa M. Hendey, founder of CatholicMom.com and author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms The Tree of Healing by Diana Gonzalez Tabbaa is a wonderful story of a young girl who discovers the love of God. I recommend this book for anyone who is searching for meaning in their life or a deeper relationship with Jesus. -Esmeralda Kiczek, author of The Adoption Movement: Saving Souls Truth, goodness, and beauty. This is what Diana Tabbaa's book is all about: the truths of our holy faith, how we are to be good, and a large dose of beauty in her poetry, prose and illustration. I am certainly ordering copies of The Tree of Healing for our young girls to read. The book is a treasure that will be kept and re-read many times. -Diane L. Toler, Headmaster, Regina Luminis Academy Enhanced throughout with full color illustrations, poems, and scriptural quotations, "The Tree Of Healing" is as inspired and inspiring as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Very highly recommended reading for Christians of all denominational affiliations and backgrounds. -Midwest Book Review, The Christian Studies Shelf With a simple and gentle voice, Tabbaa takes on the difficult question of children facing the problem of suffering. The Tree of Healing and The River of Life are the perfect books to help tweens and teens grapple with the problem of pain. I can't say how much these beautiful stories moved me. The lovely art and poetry round out the stories and provides a spark to encourage contemplative prayer. The mystical undertones are unusual to find in fiction- a wonderful surprise. I imagine The Tree of Healing and The River of Life will help draw many young people closer to Christ through contemplation of suffering and Divine Providence. -Good Books for Catholic Kids: A Catholic Parent's Guide to Worthwhile Literature, goodbooksforcatholickids.com The soothing power of God, Our Mother, and the saints flows in this coming of age story about a boy startled by grief. Anthony, a12-year-old only child, enjoys a simple life immersed in nature with his loving father and mother. ... When Anthony's father dies, Anthony feels far from God, anguished by the