"When Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the most renowned geneticist in the world, took his stand for the unborn child, he became a pariah, shunned by his elite 'friends', defamed in the press and deprived of funding for his research. How did he persevere to earn John Paul II's description of him as 'a great Christian of the twentieth century?' This engaging book shows the Jerome Lejeune, as husband and father, drew his strength from faith and family."
-Charles E. Rice, University of Notre Dame

"Jerome Lejeune was one of the greatest Catholic men of the 20th century. To Pope John Paul II he was a valued personal friend. To pro-life activists he was a valued international hero. To medical researches (honest ones, at least), he was an esteemed colleague, who should have a won a Nobel Prize. But to his own children he remained first and foremost a loving and beloved father. Seeing him here in the role, we learn more about the great public man."
-Philip Lawler, Editor, Catholic World Report

Jerome Lejeune was one of the most highly regarded geneticists of modern times. He discovered numerous sicknesses of genetic origin, of which Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) is the best known, and he was an ardent defender of life and of the dignity of "those who are mentally wounded", as he called them, to whom he dedicated his entire life, his energy and his talents. Jerome Lejeune was a "sign of contradiction for our time" according to the words of Pope John Paul II.

His daughter Clara presents here the private man: the happy father of a family, surrounded by children and grandchildren, a great Christian marked by a discreet and radiant faith, a man of culture inspired with a great sense of humor, but above all a man of courage and of great relevance who would always battle to defend the smallest (i.e., the pre-born) and the mentally handicapped. As a physician and a researcher, Jerome Lejeune would become involved in causes that would transform his life into a destiny.

Life Is a Blessing gives us a glance at Jerome Lejeune from the perspective of a devoted father, a family man. His scientific accomplishments are not to be understood apart from this. Dr. Lejeune lived this truth. This book helps its readers do the same."
-Frank Pavone, Director, Priests for Life