I'm a little late to the party (the book came out in 2012), but I recently finished Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson. She's the famous blogger who got in a horrible plane crash and got burned on 80% of her body. It's a very interesting book. She does a good job of helping the reader to live the extremely difficult experience with her. I heard about her plane crash not long after it happened and then I started following her blog. But following the blog didn't give me the details like her book does. I think I cried through half of it!
Here are some impressions:
1. Severe burns are one of the hardest injuries to recover from because so much of your identity is wrapped up in what you look like and what you can do. She had a lot of trouble emotionally accepting this new reality. She wanted to go back to her old life so badly. For a while, she couldn't do anything for herself. She has largely recovered her previous physical capabilities though, somewhat miraculously.
2. I'm not sure how she enjoyed being a mother so much. She mentioned how she would dance with her children in the kitchen while they waited for her husband to get home at dinnertime. I'm not really a dancer at my house but I definitely don't feel like dancing when everyone's hungry and I'm trying to get dinner finished! I do have moments of joy with my children but there are periods when it is just plain hard. Perhaps she is more carefree. That part of the book seems glossed over, a little.
3. She is extremely open about things. She has millions of followers of her blog and she shares details of her life that I don't think most of us would share. Same for her book. I've been thinking about this. I'm definitely more private than she is--but what makes me that way?
4. Her faith along with her family's faith and support are what sustained her. She talks about a teenage girl, also a burn victim, in the same unit with her. They went to physical therapy at the same time every day and it was clear this girl was very depressed. But she didn't realize how bad it was until this girl died simply because she gave up.
5. She has really come to terms with her new life. She is at peace with herself, despite getting rude comments and stares all the time. She says what is important is your heart, an important message in our world.
It's a good book and I recommend it.
Here are some impressions:
1. Severe burns are one of the hardest injuries to recover from because so much of your identity is wrapped up in what you look like and what you can do. She had a lot of trouble emotionally accepting this new reality. She wanted to go back to her old life so badly. For a while, she couldn't do anything for herself. She has largely recovered her previous physical capabilities though, somewhat miraculously.
2. I'm not sure how she enjoyed being a mother so much. She mentioned how she would dance with her children in the kitchen while they waited for her husband to get home at dinnertime. I'm not really a dancer at my house but I definitely don't feel like dancing when everyone's hungry and I'm trying to get dinner finished! I do have moments of joy with my children but there are periods when it is just plain hard. Perhaps she is more carefree. That part of the book seems glossed over, a little.
3. She is extremely open about things. She has millions of followers of her blog and she shares details of her life that I don't think most of us would share. Same for her book. I've been thinking about this. I'm definitely more private than she is--but what makes me that way?
4. Her faith along with her family's faith and support are what sustained her. She talks about a teenage girl, also a burn victim, in the same unit with her. They went to physical therapy at the same time every day and it was clear this girl was very depressed. But she didn't realize how bad it was until this girl died simply because she gave up.
5. She has really come to terms with her new life. She is at peace with herself, despite getting rude comments and stares all the time. She says what is important is your heart, an important message in our world.
It's a good book and I recommend it.
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