Gray, “Miracles Among the Rubble” (Reviewed by Daniel Evensen)

Title: Miracles Among the Rubble: Bringing Convoys of Humanitarian Aid, Hugs, and Hope to a War-torn Region
Author: Carol R. Gray
Editors: Samantha Richardsom and Rebecca Johnson
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Genre: Non-fiction
Year published: 2020
Pages: 155

Reviewed by Daniel Evensen

Carol Gray was an extraordinary woman. Already leading a busy life as a mother of 7, she was so disturbed by news reports of the brutal conflict in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s that she devoted herself to delivering material aid to the victims. Her story is a poignant and remarkable tale of an ordinary person who responded to the calling to do extraordinary things. It reminds us that we can help perform miracles in the lives of others, despite our own shortcomings.

Be warned: this book is a tearjerker. My eyes welled up with tears several times as I read horrific stories of loss and devastation, and the miracle that comes with compassion and aid. It is a short and smooth read, but I found that I had to break it up into several reading periods to give myself time to emotionally recover.

This is not a political treatise on any subject. Gray does not take sides in the conflict and does not even engage with the underlying political and ethnic complexities. Her goal was not to solve the conflict. Rather, her goal was simply to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those in need of comfort – and provide the material help they needed to last another day.

It appears that this book was finished in 2005, and Gray passed away in 2010. One wonders why the publication of such a simple book was delayed for so many years. Regardless, the publication of this book in 2020 is absolutely timely. We tend to forget the lessons of the past, about how hate leads only to destruction, about how compassion and love are more persuasive than debate and polemic, let alone the terrible swift sword. This is the book that we need today.

I wish I were more like Carol Gray.