In November 1976 I first learned of Christian Science. When I got home I said, "Today I learned something that always was; I just didn't know that it existed."
A week earlier my son, who was not yet twenty years old, had disappeared. I opened the Bible and left it on a countertop with the parable of the prodigal son marked (see Luke, chapter 15). I thought about this Bible story and told few people what had happened.
One afternoon I received a visit from a good friend, my cousin. As she was leaving she asked about my son, and I confided everything. We went back into the apartment and sat down. She began to tell me about a doctor who, when he didn't know what more he could do for a patient, recommended Christian Science as something marvelous that really healed. She told me about a case of alcoholism that this doctor had been unable to cure; with Christian Science treatment the individual was cured. Then she mentioned the name of a woman who she thought was a Christian Scientist.
