Title: Saving Nate
Author: Christin Rosa
Major Themes: Babies, NICU, Abortion, Pro-Life, Disabilities
Synopsis: When they were given a devastating prenatal diagnosis for one of their twins, the Rosa family had to decide whether to continue the pregnancy, or follow the doctors’ advice and terminate.
I have cut back on the number of books I request for review lately, in an attempt to get through the hundreds of books I have in stacks here, waiting for the verdict: Does this book deserve space on the shelf, or not? I do, however, check out the offerings every so often to make sure I don’t miss one that I really want to read, and one of those times I saw Saving Nate. I have always enjoyed reading medical stories, and this one sounded particularly interesting—I wondered why “Baby A” was not likely to survive, and what the outcome would be.
Publisher’s description:
“Are you sure you won’t consider a reduction?”
The monitor beeps.
Christin Rosa is propped up on pillows in a hospital maternity ward. She’s nearly nine months pregnant and about to give birth to twins, yet she knows that one of them likely won’t survive. She and her husband, Mauricio, have been advised to reduce…to terminate…to abort “Baby A”―the tiny boy inside her―but the Rosas have decided to fight for their son’s life.
The last several months have felt like waiting for a roller coaster ride to begin, and now the Rosas are preparing for the inevitable plunge they have no way of stopping. They didn’t choose to board this ride, and they would certainly get off if they could, but they trust that God is with them. Christin and Mauricio have no choice but to cling tightly to their faith and to each other, uttering desperate prayers for help and hoping that somehow they’ll make it through.
This testimony of trusting God and overcoming medical odds includes:
- inspirational, true story-driven discipleship content
- practical life-affirming resources and guidance regarding the issue of abortion and the value of human life
Now they’re headed to the operating room, where a team of medical specialists is standing by. It’s time to have these babies. Let the ride begin.
My thoughts:
Saving Nate is worth reading! This is an amazing account of parents who stood against the medical system to fight for the life of one of their children. In a culture that considers unborn babies with disabilities to be a liability, something to be discarded before birth, the Rosas made it known that they valued the life of their son, even though he had severe problems that would quite possibly mean he died at birth. I appreciated the way this mother told her story, and the story of her child, and all the thoughts she shared that God had given to her. Constantly, she points her readers to God. For example, a quote from Chapter 10:
Without God or a biblical understanding of suffering, most people have no idea how to cope when they’re confronted with something as traumatic as a devastating prenatal diagnosis or even just the possibility of a child with a congenital defect.
The Rosa family lives in Canada. I had not realized until I read this book how similar Canada and the country in which I live are, as far as abortion. The author stated something I have thought of here:
Though they would likely never admit it, I wondered if some of this pressure [to abort] stemmed from the fact that our son’s NICU stay would cost our publicly funded healthcare system many thousands of dollars.
Another thing I have thought of is the irony of the recommendation given by the doctors, which I believe stems from the same cause—to me, it sounded like Christin and her husband were being told, “Your baby will die—so just kill it now.” Also, they were told they should terminate the sick baby, though it would risk the other’s life, but they couldn’t do a procedure that might help the sick one because it would risk the other’s life!I admire the Rosa family for their strong stand for life, and appreciated the way Cristin was able to share her beliefs. This is a wonderful story to encourage people who believe in the sanctity of life and stand against abortion.
One more quote that I loved was in Chapter 18: “Suffering should make you better, not bitter.” When we suddenly lost a teenage son several years ago, this was something we discussed as a family. We all agreed that we wanted to allow God to use our trauma to make us better, not bitter—and we have seen what God did in our family. God is good! Saving Nate is a wonderful story of a family with a testimony of how God can use suffering and trauma for good.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.
WARNING: Abortion is referred to many times, and there are several instances in which a baby dies or nearly dies.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Audible Audiobook (unabridged)
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
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