Life Tragedy

In November 2004, Lora Jones was a happy wife and proud mother of two beautiful children. Lora and her family left for a family vacation, excited to celebrate the holidays, but sounds of music and laughter in their van were shattered by a head-on collision. Lora watched helplessly as, one-by-one, her beloved family slipped into eternity. Awake in a nightmare, all traces of laughter were replaced by the mournful cries of a wounded heart. How in the world could Lora go on alone? Song of a Wounded Heart tells the true story of Lora’s journey from death to hope.

How do you establish a “new normal” when life is shattered by hardship? When you learn how to harness the power of grief, and allow the pain to add purpose to your life, the result is a life you never could have imagined. This is the book author Mishael Porembski wishes she had when she suddenly found herself a pregnant widow, giving birth two months after her husband’s death, then soon grieving the loss of her mother.

Travel with one heartbroken family as they struggle to find help for their son, face unspeakable tragedy, receive unexpected forgiveness, and deal with the aftermath of a child whose mental health issues ended in calamity...and transformation. Discover the confidence that buoys author Joan Becker and her family as they push for reform in the broken mental health system before more lives are ruined. Their story offers hope, help, and heart-felt compassion.

Just after noon on a spring day in 2006, aspiring singer-songwriter Hilary Williams and her sister Holly - the granddaughters of country legend Hank Williams and daughters of country music star Hank Williams, Jr. - were driving through Mississippi down a rural stretch of Route 61 on their way to their grandfather’s funeral. Suddenly, the front wheel of the truck became caught in one of the many deep ruts and gravel lining the road, causing the vehicle and its passengers to flip over several times, crushing steel and breaking fragile bones as it crashed.

On June 10, 2008, Carol Decker walked through the hospital doors a healthy woman with flu-like symptoms and early labor contractions. Three months later, she returned home a blind triple-amputee struggling to bond with a daughter she would never see. Unshattered recounts Carol's fight for survival against sepsis and its life-shattering complications. From excruciating skin grafts to learning how to function in daily life without lower legs, a left hand, and her sight, Carol takes us on a personal and raw, yet inspiring journey.

Author Jeff Spevak was confronted with a dilemma: How do you tell the story of a man who can’t bring himself to talk about the most epic moment of his life? A clever fellow who’d scrapped to survive in a fashion that seems quaint today, Coleman tested himself as a teenager by swimming across lakes, building homes from foraged lumber, and running a navy carpentry shop as though he were a member of the scamming crew of McHale’s Navy. He was a self-taught sailor who’d become a legend on Lake Ontario. At age 96, Ernie was still sailing.

A life forged in tragedy, but defined by triumph. One of the most inspirational books you will ever read, Radical Survivor is ultimately an uplifting tribute to the human capacity for healing and resilience. With the added richness of letters Nancy received before and after the crash, as well as her sons' journal entries, Radical Survivor traverses the full spectrum of human emotions, offering a gift of hope for anyone faced with healing after loss of any kind.

Minutes before Brian Walsh, then just a teenager, heard his beeper go off, calling him to help put out another fire, he was on top of the world. An hour later, after a freak flashover and confusion that sent the junior firefighter into the inferno against regulations, Brian had suffered such profound burns to his face that he was unidentifiable to his fellow firefighters. Nearly everyone expected him to die that night. He did not. In this stirring autobiography, he tells his incredible story, sharing the lessons that only tragedy could teach.

In 2008, Bridgid suffered severe traumatic brain injury following a bicycle accident. Her life resumed as if she were a three-year-old having to relearn many of the life skills that she lost as a result of her injury. This story chronicles her journey - waxing and waning - toward healing.

Aleksandar and Isobel are siblings and former classical music prodigies, once destined for greatness. As the only Eastern European family growing up on their block on the far southside of Chicago, the pair were inseparable until each was forced to confront the absurdity of tragedy at an early age and abandon their musical ambitions. Now in their twenties, they find themselves encountering ridiculous jobs, unfulfilling romantic relationships, and the outrageousness of ordinary life.

It's fall 1987, and life as normal is ending for the Malone family. With their sterile Dallas community a far cry from the Irish-American Bronx of their youth, Pat and Anne Malone have reached a breaking point. Pat, faced with a debilitating MS diagnosis, has fallen into his drinking. Anne, his devoutly Catholic wife, is selected as a juror for a highly publicized attempted murder trial, one that raises questions - about God, and about men in power - she has buried her entire life. Together, they try to raise their only son, Daniel.

Skate Tate has a good life. She has close friends, a loving family, and her beloved Great Uncle Mort. However, Skate has to figure out the new world of Biddle Middle, where eighth graders rule, old friendships start to change, and a sixth-grader has to struggle to make a place for herself. Then other, more painful changes arise for the Tates. This story of how this close knit family responds to tragedy will move and delight listeners everywhere.

In a courageous debut novel, Holly M. McGhee explores the loss that shakes one girl's world - and the unexpected consequences of the things we do for love.

In Chia-Chia Lin’s debut, The Unpassing, we meet a Taiwanese immigrant family of six struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and repairman while the mother, a loving, strong-willed, and unpredictably emotional matriarch, holds the house together. When 10-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes up a week later to learn that his little sister Ruby was infected, too. She did not survive.

Murphys Don’t Quit is a story of hope and resilience as one family rallies together during a tragedy. Colleen Murphys’ daughter, Lauren, suffered severe brain damage after a tragic accident. Lauren remained in the hospital unidentified for several hours, she was not expected to survive. This story is a raw, honest account of the pitfalls and challenges a family faces while navigating life through brain injury. Murphys Don’t Quit shows how one family combined a never-give-up attitude with faith, hope, and love.

It's a most unusual story. Father was gone, and Mother was dying from TB. That left Grandmother Anna, who was older than dirt, trying to raise three little girls without two nickels to rub together. It was 1933, in the middle of the depression. We lived in Queens, NY, and let me tell you, times were hard. I was five years old when The Fresh Air Fund’s summer program had an unexpected opening. Those two weeks I spent in Delaware changed my life forever.

Molly McKenzie is only eleven years old when her abusive father beats her to within an inch of her life. Escaping from the hovel she calls home, Molly is found by kind fisherfolk, sick and near death. With them she experiences the love of a family for the first time and, even though life is hard, she is content. Time passes and Molly’s looking ahead to a future with the boy she loves, but then a terrible tragedy rips her life apart. Once again she’s cast adrift in an uncaring world, but Molly is made of stern stuff and is determined to survive.

In the Civil War, the government hired women and girls - some as young as nine - to make millions of rounds of ammunition. They worked 72-hour weeks with little training. Poor immigrant girls and widows paid the price for carelessness at three major arsenals. Many of these workers were killed, blown up, and burned beyond recognition. Gunpowder Girls is a story of child labor and immigrant hopes and the cruel, endless demands of an all-consuming war. A Junior Library Guild selection.

At some point in your life, you will contemplate the end and question what it is like to depart from the only thing you’ve known. Hesitation and uncertainty might consume you to the core, or a sensation of comfort and contentment will set you free. In Four Seasons, Chris Widener shares the relatable journey of Jonathan Blake and his family through a year in their life, confronted with unavoidable tragedy. After he is diagnosed with cancer, Jonathan reflects on the growth of his children, watching them take life into their own hands and create light in the darkest of times.