More than just a love story - a story of perfect parenting

I made the mistake of watching "The Fault in Our Stars" today, and despite all of the tissues, it was really wonderful.  I know I should have read the book first; books are always better than the movie, but I have so many books that I want to read that it would take forever to get to it, so I went ahead and watched it.  

Besides just the amazing two main characters, I was so moved by the Mom and Dad in the movie, I know the teens who read and watched it all related to the two sick star-crossed lovers (yes, pun intended) but as a Mom I couldn't help looking at the story from the mother's perspective, and wow...what a Mom she was.  I can't imagine how difficult it would be dealing with a terminally ill child, but the parents in this story were inspiring.  They were able to see past their fears, and they saw who their daughter really was, and what was important to her.  They had the courage to allow their daughter to travel, despite the doctors warning, to allow their daughter to realize one of her greatest dreams.  They also allowed their daughter to have a 'normal' relationship (as normal as someone can have when they are diagnosed with a terminal disease).  The parents were not the center of this movie, they were not the ones bravely facing their mortality, but they were heroic in their actions toward their daughter.

I still hope to read this book one of these days, even though I already know the ending.  I know the author’s primary focus was on these two incredible main characters, but this author also gave all of us the most incredible role models for parents who have a child facing a challenge like this.  Parents who were brave enough to allow their child to take chances and even to get hurt; they allowed her to really live even with the very real fear of her dying.