In January of 2023, Tim Keesee and I set out on a journey—a journey that has since taken us around the world. Together we have visited twenty-odd countries spread across all six inhabited continents. But before we embarked on that journey, Tim had found himself a traveler on a very different journey—a journey through cancer. And that is the subject of his new book A Day’s Journey.
Yet this is not just a memoir of diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. As he tells his own story, Tim reflects on the importance of days, the passing of time, the companions he encountered, and the friends and family members who helped shoulder his load. The most prominent section, though, is the one devoted to telling other people’s stories.
In this section, “Along the Way,” he describes a day spent with people who taught him about courage, hope, joy, wonder, and compassion—people who gave him a deeper understanding of the precious gospel of Jesus Christ. Some have suffered through illnesses, some through difficult circumstances, and some through fierce persecution. Some are just people he admires and looks up to. But all add to the story, all contribute their own knowledge and wisdom. Joni Eareckson Tada makes an appearance here, as do Rosaria Butterfield, Caroline Cobb, and a few whose stories are just as important, though their names are lesser-known.
Together, it makes for a compelling and helpful book. And since it is told by as skilled a writer as Tim, it is also a beautiful book—one that uses the riches of the English language to make it all the better to read.
Those who are enduring a long trial will find A Day’s Journey comforting. Those who are not—but who know they will in the future (since this is, after all, a world in which we all endure trials)—will find it challenging. All who read it will benefit from it and find that it leads their hearts to worship the Lord who accompanies us on every journey, the most difficult as well as the most joyful.
