The return of the rosy color to Jeri Paholek's lips and fingertips -- a sign of being cured -- is not the only healing attempted in Pink Lips and Fingertips, by Penn State Alumnus Rick Weber.

The book tells the inspirational truth-based story of Jeri Paholek's "walk with God" and her life struggle with Common Ventricle, a rare disease with which the patient is born without a septum, forcing his or her heart to work at an alarming rate.

It's a moving story of a fearless woman who faces death daily, tied in with strong Christian commentary throughout. With so much Christian explanation and medical analysis, it becomes hard to connect with the characters -- mainly Paholek.

The story begins in the hospital waiting room at the climax of Paholek's life. Not expected to live past the age of 12, she has finally received her long-awaited heart and organs at 35. Weber then brings the reader back to the beginning of Paholek's life to better understand the faith-filled struggle that led her to this point.

Much of the book is filled with scientific and medical explanation that is hard to follow, but the reader is better able to keep up with the actual stories of Paholek's life. Paholek is described as a devout Christian, even once termed a "saint," and is portrayed as having no faults of her own. The story comprises of many tales of her giving nature and overwhelmingly positive outlook on life.

Her faith is characterized as so strong that she even sent a letter to then death row inmate Timothy McVeigh, hoping to inspire him to come to God. This is just one example among many of how she reached out to others in the story. Some other examples Weber gives include Paholek sitting on the side of the road with a "Need Prayer" sign and offering to adopt a baby a young woman is set to abort.

The reader gets to learn about the impact of the acts through the feedback of other people's letters -- denoted in italics --and the appreciation of their sentiments.

Things seem to fall together all too perfectly throughout the story, leaving the reader to wonder if the characters are ever truly upset or have missteps.

At a certain point in the story, this seemingly invincible character faces depression, but little detail is put into the depth of her depression, and the reader is left hoping to hear more that might humanize the saint-like character. She is sent to a psychiatric facility to overcome breaking up with her fiancé, and little is said about the details of her mental state. The situation is swiftly brushed aside to focus on an overwhelmingly positive outlook on everything. It starts to get hard to tell whether it's a story or biography because Weber didn't know Paholek but gives her a voice, molding her to compliment the story.

Throughout the story of Paholek's battle, Weber brings a lot of Christian scripture and belief into play; he does not try to hide faith throughout his narration. At some points in the story, there is a lot of explanation about the Christian faith and less about the development of the characters. Bible verses are scattered throughout the whole story, and Weber chooses characters to explain the Christian faith.

The line is fuzzy between a narrative storyteller and religious agenda. At one point in the story Weber discusses Paholek's giving nature.

"She learned subliminally along the way that giving actually filled her up. That's true for everybody, but most of us are too selfish and wedded to our own agenda."

He describes a character and then randomly placing in a personal opinion on the matter.

The story is filled with rich heartfelt moments that leave the reader feeling touched, and the powerful testimonies Weber includes from the people in Paholek's life illustrate her legacy the best.

Pink Lips and Fingertips leaves the reader rooting for Paholek, but Weber's handling of the book sometimes blurs the line between story and religious persuasion.

Grade: C