My Life and Lesser Catastrophes {a memoir} by Christina Schofield

Book Description:  Just after her thirteenth wedding anniversary, Christina Schofield woke up groggy and disoriented, surrounded by nurses in a hospital. She and her husband had hit a gravel patch while on their motorcycle and crashed into a ditch. With the exception of a concussion, she was fine. But Allen had broken his neck. He was now a quadriplegic.

With her entire life flipped upside down, she began an astonishing journey of tenacious faith amid increasing doubt. Full of dark, silent hours and a woman's honest questioning of the God she thought she knew, this is also a story full of miraculous answers to prayer and head-scratching, awe-inspiring encounters with her loving Lord.With candid warmth and transparency, Christina shows readers that even in their darkest hours, God's goodness shines through.

My Review:  As I read this book the poem, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, especially the ending kept coming to my mind . . . "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference".

Christina unflinchingly writes from the heart.  She writes of tears, frustration, joy and a road that was taken. 

On that fateful day, Christina writes, "I always thought about God when we rode . . . and then I found myself praying a prayer I would think about over and over in the months that followed:  God, I don't like living fearfully and I don't think it pleases You.  So right and now, I want to affirm my trust in You-I trust You to protect me and keep me safe." (p. 16)  This quote sums up the whole book for me.  Trust Him!

Even though this is a small book it is packed with faith.  This is definitely one of those reads that builds your faith and makes you teary eyed (a nice way to say you'll probably cry).   And then there are times I totally laughed out.loud because, well, I guess you'd have to experience a conversation with your spouse like Christina and Allen have on page 73.  

And I love the way Christina ends the read . . . The end. Sort of.  Because with God there are no endings, only beginnings that draw us closer to Him.

*This book was provided by Bethany House Publishing*

Meet the Author:

Christina Schofield has been a children's illustrator and writer for the last ten years, working with Zonderkidz, Group Publishing, Standard Publishing, and Cook Communications. She and her husband, Allen, a campus pastor, have one daughter, Lily, and live in Rolla, Missouri.