Life, and Death, and Giants

A remarkable child transforms a small, rural community – and, soon, the world. A young, unmarried Amish woman, attended by the country veterinarian, delivers an enormous baby, and no one in Lakota, Wisconsin knows what to make of the boy. Raised by his brother on a struggling farm, Gabriel Fisher walks at eight months, communicates with animals and possesses extraordinary athletic abilities. When his brother dies, Gabriel is taken in by his devout Amish grandparents and, for a time, he disappears into the anonymity of Amish life. But then, aged seventeen and nearly eight feet tall, Gabriel is spotted working in a hayfield by the local football coach and his life changes for ever. In Life, and Death, and Giants, Gabriel’s remarkable story is told by those whose lives are transformed by him: Thomas Kennedy, the veterinarian who delivers him and becomes his mentor; Hannah Fisher, Gabriel’s Amish grandmother, who is troubled by deep gaps in her faith; Billy Walton, the salty bar owner and bridge between the Amish and English communities in Lakota; and Trey Beathard, the football coach, who tries to counsel Gabriel as his fame explodes – with consequences that no-one could have predicted . . .