Thursday, August 13, 2015

Book Review: Fractured Not Broken by Kelly Schaefer with Michelle Wiedenbenner

Fractured Not Broken
By Kelly Schaefer and Michelle Weidenbenner
Publisher: Kelly Schaefer LLC with R. Publishing LLC
Published: July 3, 2015
ASIN: B010Y0MB02

Amazon Synopsis:

AWARD-WINNING and BESTSELLING AUTHOR. 
Parts of this story appeared on ESPN and in ROSIE. 

Fractured Not Broken is a true story of loss, faith, and a rare love that only happens in nonfiction. 

In a sweeping narrative and heart-wrenching story, Kelly exposes the truth about what happened after a drunk driver rendered her a quadriplegic. She shares how she found her way back—through faith and pain, her community, her family, and the love of a man she’d prayed for. 

"This is a real life story of heroic virtue—especially of courage, humility, and generosity—a triumph of faith, hope and love. This story involves the very essence of the human spirit, family, and community. To know Kelly and her journey of miracles is to know that with God all things are possible." —Most Reverend Charles C. Thompson, Bishop of Evansville 

"This book has been a true encouragement to me. Thank you Kelly for sharing your story— the loss and the unexpected joy— so that each reader can be uplifted knowing there is a full, rich life available to those who lean in to our Lord Jesus." 
—Renee Bondi 
Award-Winning Singer and Songwriter 

"Life has its tragic moments of defeat, setbacks, and fracturing for everyone. Kelly's story proves, however, that individual momentum, personal progress, and genuine achievement can still be attained. Her courage and optimism are uplifting. Open these pages and experience the joy of ultimate victory." —Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Author 
Jesus in All Four Seasons 

Book Links

My Thoughts:

 Fractured Not Broken is a story that will stick with you long after you finish reading it. It will put into perspective the setbacks that we incur in life. Rarely will one of us have one that changes the entire way we live.

All it took was one bad decision from one drunk driver to forever change the lives of a group of youth. This is the story of the trials, setbacks, defeats and above all triumphs of one young woman forever changed by the incident.

Kelly Craig’s faith in God is evident as she strives to sort out why He would allow such a terrible thing to happen to her, finally coming to see the blessings Jesus has given her because of the accident. I thought the writing of the story was well-handled, moving back and forth in time from before and after the accident.

I found her story inspiring to my own life as I suffer from debilitating constant chronic migraine headaches and reading about the blessings in her life that she never would have received had she not had the accident (ie. meeting her husband) helped me to look at the blessings in my life since my headaches became chronic. Thank you Kelly!

I marveled at the way it was possible to see God’s hand at work (when looking back) in bringing Kelly and Shawn together. What a beautiful God-ordained romance and relationship! Not that all was perfect; I am glad that Kelly wrote about their first fight. Not only was it humorous after the fact, it showed that they were a couple just like any other married couple.

Fractured Not Broken was difficult to put down once I picked it up for several reasons. The first reason was that this is a true story and I always find true stories to be particularly inspiring. Secondly, the writing done by the authors as well as the editing of this book was excellent. That made it a pleasure to read. I rated this memoir 5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

Kelly Schaefer
Kelly is a teacher, speaker, wife, Young Life volunteer and Skittles lover. She overcomes obstacles every day as a quadriplegic, but finds strength in her faith and community.

Author Links

Michelle Wiedenbenner
Michelle is a fulltime employee of God’s kingdom, writing and encouraging writers every day. She’s often a sucker for emotional stories, her sensitive side fueling the passion for her character’s plights, often giving her the ability to show readers the “other” side of the story.

She grew up in the burbs of Detroit with five brothers. No sisters. Each time her mom brought the boy bundle home from the hospital Michelle cried, certain her mom liked boys better than girls. But when her brothers pitched in with the cooking, cleaning, and babysitting—without drama, Michelle discovered having brothers wasn’t so bad. They even taught her how to take direct criticism without flinching, which comes in handy with book reviews.

Michelle is living her dream—writing every day and thanking God for the stories He puts in her path. When Michelle isn’t writing she’s winning ugly on the tennis court. She’s known as “Queen of the Rim Shots.” No joke. It’s ugly.

Author Links

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