Campers play like
without serious
children
illnesses.

Rabbi Goldberg and .crew.

In The World

A BOOK OF LIFE

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

The rabbi defends his
from, yet sporty clothing com-
bo. He says his black belt and
black hat comprise an appro-
priate symbol for camp.
"The ideal of karate is a
very Jewish thing," he says.
"The idea behind it is that
there's an energy in us. If we
tap into it, it allows us to find
strength to withstand the
challenges that confront us.
Those individuals with a
sense of inner strength are
much more capable of de-
feating the ravages of their
illnesses."
Camp Simcha's staff con-
sists of rabbis, counselors and

medical professionals who en-
courage the frail youth to act,
rather than be acted upon.
Many terminally ill children
are accustomed to being
pampered, being treated, be-
ing attended to. At camp,
they can be — athletes,
artists, swimmers — active,
normal kids.
After a short time at camp,
chemotherapy patients toss
off their wigs and run around
bald. They participate in ac-
tivities aimed at fostering an
independence they may have
never known.
Counselors and other staff
HAPPIEST PLACE page 104

ahlia Lithwick, a Yale
University graduate,
grew up with a severe
case of juvenile arthri-
tis. She was confined to a
wheelchair through her teen-
age years.
It was this experience, in
part, that helped her under-
stand the struggles of children
with life-threatening diseases.
Ms. Lithwick, who now stud-
ies law at Stanford Universi-
ty, teamed up with a former
Yale classmate, Larry Berger,
to compile I Will Sing Life, a
book describing the lives of

D

seven terminally ill children.
The idea for the book came
after Ms. Lithwick and Mr.
Berger worked in Connecticut
as counselors at the Hole In
The Wall Gang Camp for chil-
dren with serious illnesses.
The founder of the camp, ac-
tor Paul Newman, wrote the
book's introduction, but the
rest is written almost entirely
by the children themselves. It
contains their poetry, stories
and day-to-day experiences.
"Make no mistake about it.
This book does not fall into the
BOOK OF LIFE page 104

Cl)

01

0)

ti

U)

103