My Friend Michael

I read this book by Frank Cascio, not sure where it would take me, or leave me.  I was nervous about what he might have written that would be too revealing of Michael's personal life, or something that could be used against Michael in some way.  I was hoping it was not another betrayal, something that happened all too often in Michael's life.   In the end, I need not have worried.  Frank Cascio clearly adored Michael from the age of five, to now.  He was very careful to try to write completely honestly and fairly, and give us a view of Michael's life, that could only be told by Frank, because he was there.  For me, it rang true, and gave me comfort that Michael had a true friend by his side, and a regular family to be a part of.   He shows us how it was from inside Michael's world, not as an excuse, but as a way to help us understand him and his life.  I admire the way Frank does not presume to take any other point of view than his own, and does not venture outside of his own personal experience to describe what was happening.  This is not written by someone looking for his five minutes of fame, but someone who truly was a friend to Michael, always.

I love seeing the human side of Michael, the jokes, the fun and how much he truly was a child at heart all his life.  Anything that pulls me closer to Michael can only be good.  I love to know that he was not perfect, in the human sense.  At the same time, this books is like a microscope focused on one person's experience of Michael and by no means is a complete picture of Him.  I think that Frank purposely avoided mentioning anything about Michael's godliness, in the hopes of being taken seriously by readers and reviewers.  He could probably write another book about the enlightening experiences he had with Michael, but that is not the purpose of My Friend Michael.  It's like Frank's relationship was one piece of the puzzle, and all of us have our own piece to put in to make the whole picture of Michael's effect on the world.

I did not feel that Frank went too far in any aspect of his writing.  Nothing that he wrote disappoints me in any way.   We all need to be able to accept the fact that Michael was human, which to me, make his determination and perseverance to be what God wanted him to be, even more beautiful.  It makes me love him more, and be determined myself, to be what He would have me be and do what He would have me do.