A Family Affair

My second oldest brother is, among other things, an author. That's really cool. When we returned from our mini-vacation, we had a good amount of mail waiting for us, including a big envelope from my brother's university, addressed to me. Inside was his latest book, "Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting Global Crises," as well as a letter typed on his stationery: "Dear Sue, Enclosed please find one gift copy of my recent book. I am so thankful that you're my sister. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it." The signing of it was funny: "Grace and peace, David Van Heemst, Ph.D." I never thought of signing my name, followed by "B.A." -- especially to beloved family members. "With all my love, Susan, B.A." Maybe I should try it some time!

I felt pretty honored to get this. Honored and proud. I mean, he's my brother, after all. This is his third book, joining the ranks of "Empowering the Poor: Why Justice Requires School Choice" and my all-time favorite (in title only, since I've never read it), "Herman Dooyeweerd And Eric Voegelin: A Comparative Study (Studies in the History of Philosophy)." It was cool to type in his name on Amazon.com and see these books come up. I'll admit I've never read any of them, and this latest is the first that I now own. No offense to him or his interests, but this isn't a book I would normally choose to read. I still think this is very cool.

My Brother the Doctor/Professor/Author is also going to become a father of triplets this week. Yes, triplets! Actually, perhaps by tomorrow already. They already have twin girls, who turned six last month, and now they are adding three more girls to the mix. I think writing three books would be far, far easier than having three babies at the same time. He's got an impressive c.v., to say the least! Way to go, guys. We're rooting for you and waiting in the cyber-waiting-room, passing out cigars, reading your books, and waiting for the news.