Muddy Thursday

There is nothing remarkable about finding a penny on the sidewalk or bumping into an old friend on the street, but what if you stumble upon a lifeless child lying in the grass on a cold, dark night? What happens then? In Muddy Thursday, Darla Garvey tells us exactly what happens, because it happened to her. And that child? He was her son.

Darla Garvey would have preferred to write a murder mystery, an action hero series, or even a folktale. Anything but a memoir that centers on the most traumatic event of her life – and that is the sudden, mysterious death of her twelve-year old son, Ray. But this is the story that chose her.

Ray lived with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic life-threatening disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. His daily care was complicated and time-consuming, but between respiratory treatments Ray lived as if he didn’t have cystic fibrosis. He was equal parts charming, feisty, thoughtful, stubborn, and incredibly funny. In fact, nothing brought Ray more joy than making people laugh. So it seems especially cruel that a young boy who brought laughter to this world, and one who fought every day to slow the progression of his disease, would be blindsided by something else that shockingly took his life.

Ray’s younger sister, Martha was also diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Not only did Martha lose her only sibling, she lost her best friend, her partner in crime, and the only other person she knew who had CF. After her brother’s death, Martha was left to deal with complications from her illness without the one person who would have understood her fight and would have championed for her to hang in there. Muddy Thursday chronicles Martha’s courageous journey with, and without, her brother.

With her sense of humor, Garvey skillfully provides levity just when the reader needs it the most. And while Muddy Thursday is certainly a tragic, heartbreaking story, it is also a testament to one family’s strength, courage and hope. Most of all, Muddy Thursday is a love story.