Faith, Hope, and Dr. Vangelis

In a world of pain, who heals a wounded healer? This question bedevils Lukas Vangelis, a hospice physician. For decades, he's been not only a medical doctor, but a spiritual go-between, assisting the dying into peaceful death. He doesn't recognize the extent to which this role has become an almost unbearable burden.His niece and colleague, Diana Karras, likewise bears the scars of a healer who gives hope to the hopeless. Both she and her uncle bear deep wounds from life's battles, the pains they have inflicted and suffered.Lukas's psychological turmoil is complicated by his love for Helen Ferguson, also a colleague and a longtime friend, whose presence in his life creates a tension that threatens to disrupt his work.In his ninth decade, he finds that his spiritual gifts are suddenly amplified when a spectral visitation from his long-dead mother warns him that he must launch a quest to find his successor, the one who must be prepared "to bear your burden."An encounter with two fellow World War II veterans at a dinner in Washington sends a signal to Lukas: his connection with these two men will guide him to his successor. While this provides assurance that his road will soon reach its end, the path forces him to face the consequences of his own actions. Only when he recognizes that he must quell the upsets and sorrows that have plagued his life does he begin to make progress. The birth of a great-grandson to one of the two old war friends launches Lukas into a serious reckoning with the price he must pay to reach his goal.Lukas's path toward inner peace runs into complications. His communications with family and friends who have gone before him are unsettling, yet bring an unusual form of comfort. When the preordained successor is only a few months old, his mother, Katie Lyle, is diagnosed with a virulent form of cancer. Her struggle for survival, unknown to Lukas, operates as a hidden magnet, drawing him toward his final voyage. Katie's son, Timmy, displays at an early age signs of a precocity that his family finds hard to understand.The path to healing is blocked when Lukas endures a vicious mugging that leaves him close to death. As he recovers from his injuries, he begins to hear nagging inner voices that tell him he has failed, that his quest is doomed before it reaches fruition.A series of encounters that appear to be purely coincidental pull Lukas and Diana to relocate their hospice to Florida. When Katie learns that her cancer is now terminal, they become her attendants. Lukas must explain to Timmy a destiny that neither of them can fully control. As the story draws to a close, Lukas and Diana complete the journeys of forgiveness that have brought them into Timmy's life. Lukas passes on to Diana and Helen his role of mentor to Timmy, who begins to recognize his own powers as a healer.