Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, the perennial best-selling book published in 1981, died April 28 in Canton, MA. He was 88.

Shortly after arriving at Temple Israel of Natick, MA, his daughter Ariel was born and his 3-year-old son Aaron was diagnosed with a fatal premature aging condition called progeria. His book represented his attempt to make sense of Aaron’s suffering and eventual death, just days after his 14th birthday. To date, more than 4 million copies of the book have been sold in at least a dozen languages.

Other books followed on equally difficult topics, including the meaning of life, talking to children about God, overcoming disappointment, resolving conflict, etc.

Among his accolades, he was honored by the Roman Catholic organization, the Christophers, as someone who made the world a better place; Religion in America named him Clergyman of the Year in 1999; and in 2004, he read from the Book of Isaiah at the state funeral of President Ronald Reagan.