Climbing Toward the Light: A Journey of Growth, Understanding, and Love

The victims of the AIDS virus are not only those who have died. Their families are left behind to cope with the tragedy of a life-- often a young life-- taken quickly and cruelly. Such is the story of David and Ardie Rodale. David was a musician, playwright, painter, computer expert, a 30-year-old whose creativity and drive were just beginning to coalesce into a life of purpose and joy. And then, suddenly, he developed pneumonia and died, a victim of AIDS. His mother, Ardie, was faced with the immensity of that loss-- and this book is the result of her three years of uncovering the inner meaning and message in the death of her son. For in the intense emotion of living with that death, Ardie found new life, new purpose-- new light.

This book, written with the sincerity and earnestness of a true seeker, is the story of a phoenix, a woman rising from the ashes of grief and despair to new heights of self-realization and love. It is the story of a mother of five, for in coping with David's death, Ardie probed the meaning of her relationships with all of her children. It is the story of a wife and her quest for self-determination and true love. It is the story of a working woman, of finding identity and strength in personal accomplishment. But most of all, it is the story of an opening heart-- of a person confronting the undeniable fact of loss, and finding in that confrontation an inspiring strength that calls us all to "Climb Toward the Light" of understanding and love.