Book Review: “Grace from the Rubble”

April 19 marked the 25 ^th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, the worst act of homegrown terrorism in our nation’s history.

“Grace from the Rubble,” written by Jeanne Bishop, is an “untold true story of Bud Welch and Bill McVeigh” about reconciliation and the love of God. The story is how Welch, the father of a young woman killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, and McVeigh, the father of her killer, Timothy McVeigh, forged a friendship and found forgiveness.

The context of this “story” exists through the “link to tragedy” shared by the author and the two main characters, Bud Welch and Bill McVeigh. Bishop tells how the 1990 murder of her younger sister, who was living in Chicago, affected her own family and led her to write about the journey Welch and McVeigh shared leading up to the meeting between the two.

The author has organized the content into three overarching themes: The Characters, The Tragedy and Redemption. Within each theme are subtitles that provide the reader the ability to gain deeper understanding for the content and details leading up to the story climax. I found this content framework to be very useful for referencing various details.

The fact that the author included Oklahoma history, details provided by many first-hand witnesses of the Oklahoma City bombing, and interviews with both Welch and McVeigh, help make this “untold story” come to life for the reader. Also, it is evident that the author’s own story of loss provided the empathy to tell the story well.

This story of Welch and McVeigh as told by Jeanne Bishop is a must-read for all of us who are called to forgive.

John H. Dolezal is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.