Book In Review

        I have been wanting to read this book, since i first heard about it.  I even put my name on the hold list at the library and waited weeks to be able to sit down and absorb it.  Mistaken Identity is the behind the trauma story of two young college women of faith who were accidently, mixed up by the emergency workers when their van was hit by a truck…one young woman died…the other…was restored, bit by bit, by the very hand of God.

        This is the story of Whitney Cerak and Laura Van Ryn.  Two young women who looked very much alike…had similiar, can do spirits, that were focussed on serving God.  This story is about loss, restoration, healing, faith, bonding, servitude, compassion, empathy, perserverance, grief,  pain, hope and joy; and so much more.  It is a testimony of families of faith and how that faith sustains them through the whirlwind that is life. 

        There are photographs of both young women and their friends and their lives.  The book touches on the struggles of those who face traumatic brain injury; and, shows the massive effort it takes of professionals, family members, friends and community members  to support those going through this particular medical hardship.

        The book really was a collaboration of two families; the book  underscores how God uses difficult circumstances; to make good come out of them, when the human mind and spirit struggles to see the big picture.  Mistaken Identity should shore up one’s faith, as it is read, because the experience that these families went through; and, continue to go through, illustrates how God is with us, in big and small ways…guiding us, helping us, healing us and teaching us to lean on him, and not on our understanding of our circumstances.

         I think that Mistaken Identity is a must read for anyone who struggles understanding why they must endure difficult situations in their lives.  It is a oddly comforting mix of trauma and triumph.

        The book was written by: Don and Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen, and Whitney Cerak along with Mark Tabb.  It was copyrighted in 2008 and published by, Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.   Check them out here:  http://www.howardpublishing.com.