The Opposite of Certainty

Fear, Faith, and Life in Between

By: Janine Urbaniak Reid, Anne Lamott

Narrated by: Ginny Welsch

This gripping memoir about what it means to face uncertainty details the plans Janine had for her family and her life that were gutted by her then 10-year-old son Mason’s diagnosis of a cancerous brain tumor, only to be followed by her own cancer diagnosis.

All Janine Urbaniak Reid ever wanted was for everyone she loved to be okay so she might relax and maybe be happy. Her life strategy was simple: do everything right. This included trying to be the perfect mother to her three kids so they would never experience the kind of pain she pretended not to feel growing up. What she didn’t expect was the chaos of an out-of-control life that begins when her young son’s hand begins to shake and he is diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 10.

This moving memoir is the story of Janine’s reluctant journey beyond easy answers and platitudes. She searches for a source of strength bigger than her circumstances, only to have her circumstances become even thornier when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Drawn deeply and against her will into herself, she discovers hidden reserves of strength, humor, and a no-matter-what faith that looks nothing like she thought it would. The Opposite of Certainty is:

• Brilliant, breathtakingly honest, and sometimes very funny account of marriage, motherhood, and the unfathomable salvation we find in God
• An unvarnished look at defying the gravity of challenging life circumstances
• The recognition that anyone can tap a source of strength inside themselves to walk through the impossible

Beautifully written and deeply hopeful, Janine shows us how we can come through impossible times transformed and yet more ourselves than we’ve ever allowed ourselves to be.

©2020 Janine Reid (P)2020 Thomas Nelson

Critic reviews

'The diagnosis of life-threatening illness is one of the most terrifying challenges any family or individual can face. Anger, resentment, fear, and loneliness rise up ready to do battle with hope, and all are made more powerful by love. The Opposite of Certainty is a deeply personal memoir about such a journey, told with brutal honesty and so much grace it will touch your soul.'

—Jacqueline Winspear, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Journey to Munich, A Dangerous Place, Leaving Everything Most Loved, and nine other novels featuring Maisie Dobbs

No parent wants to hear the words 'your child has a tumor.' In this audiobook, narrator Ginny Welsch captures the frustration, fear, and disbelief of a woman struggling to care for her child who has brain cancer while also struggling to keep her family, herself, and her faith together. Even though Welsch is sharing the powerful words of another woman, her emotional performance makes this audiobook truly personal for the listener. She captures its raw honesty.

—Audiofile Magazine

'A beautiful sucker punch, like life. When the ground crumbles beneath your hopes, big dreams, and great expectations, what do you stand on and for? Where do you find the strength to keep going? You find it in this gem of a book.'

—Ron Fournier, New York Times bestselling author of Love That Boy

An Honest Account of a Journey Through Loss

The only reason I could not give this audio book 5 stars is because the narrator mispronounces words, and places stress on the wrong words in a sentence, a little too often for my perfectionist and medically-trained brain. Also, although Anne Lamott wrote the forward, she did not narrate it, so this seemed like false advertising. I plan on buying the hard copy of this book however, because it has been such a gift to me, and I would definitely give the written version 5 stars across the board!

I am currently nearing the close of the first year of my own son's recovery from a severe brain injury. Though his age, and the causes of his injury, are quite different from those of the author's son, still I found the journey of this mother and son (and the rest of the family) to very closely mirror mine. The author accurately describes both the external and internal experience of an unthinkable "change of plans" and the unplanned journey that ensues--one that brings both unbearable loss of control and unfathomable joy. I have felt validation, kinship, and hope as I've read this account, and will probably reread it again and again.