Life Tragedy

In The Tragedy of Arthur, Phillips tells the (mostly) true story of being asked to write the introduction to a lost Shakespeare play entitled The Most Excellent and Tragical Historie of Arthur, King of Britain. But Phillips knows the play - supposedly found in a safety deposit box in America - is a fake.

One accident. Two victims. Three deaths. A moving account of grief and its aftermath. In the fall of 2009, Catherine Gourdier and the other members of her family were happily gathering for a surprise horror-themed birthday party for their youngest member, Julie, when the unthinkable happened. As...

You don’t realize how strong you are until the tough times are upon you, and then you discover your power and resilience. These 101 true and inspiring stories of resilience, hope, and triumph over adversity are a testament to the human spirit—and an invitation for you to find your own Inner...

The inside story of the Super Bowl champion 1986 Giants, the extraordinary friendships that resulted--and stunning revelations about the hardships they faced, based on new interviews with Bill Parcells, Phil Simms, Mark Bavaro, and Bill Belichick. The 1986 New York Giants are legendary. A...

Sometimes joy and grief are separated by mere moments. A last-minute run down a ski slope … a catastrophic accident … and an amazing young man is reduced to a comatose form in a hospital bed. His adoring fiancée remains to weep, pray, grieve, rage, and struggle with the jagged trauma of...

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.

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.

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.

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.

When Shannon Sovndal started medical school, he was confident and motivated and felt invincible. He thought he was going in with his eyes wide open. Really, he had no clue. Nothing could prepare him for the harsh reality of being a compassionate human and working as an ER doctor. In his emotionally charged memoir, Sovndal examines the tenuous balance between trying to compartmentalize the trauma of tragedy while also preserving his own humanity.

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.

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.

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.

When diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, Lonnell Johnson did not see “a death sentence”. Instead, he saw a “life sentence” that transformed his thinking. In Embracing Your Life Sentence: How to Turn Life’s Greatest Tragedies into Your Greatest Triumphs, he shares his holistic strategy to overcome any adversity. Weaving original poetry and Scripture into his battle plan, Johnson shows how he emerged as not just a survivor but more than a conqueror.

The Magic of Life explores how he overcame tragedy, grief, and depression throughout his life. Even though he lost his mother, he and his brother were raised by his father and an incredible Jamaican woman who stepped in to fill the mother’s role. Michael shares his unique life about loss and how he finally addressed his grief with a blend of humor and inspiration that will have you crying and laughing throughout the book.

After the death of a child, there is no closure. It is like learning how to live with an amputation—you are forever changed and need to learn how to live a new “normal”. Laura Diehl was plunged into that place with the death of her daughter and experienced the deep need to connect with others who had experienced what cannot be put into words. When Tragedy Strikes is the raw account of her journey from deep darkness back into light and life, extending a hand of hope to those traveling on the path behind her who need to rebuild their lives after the death of a child.

In this extraordinary novel, a forty-year-old woman journeys to her cultural homeland—and uncovers a harrowing secret that makes her rethink everything she thought she knew about her mother. "An unforgettable story about mothers, daughters, and sisters reaching inward for solace and strength...

Believing in Tomorrow is the new sweeping family saga from the top ten bestselling author of One Snowy Night, Rita Bradshaw. 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...

Son! Done! Come! These three single words present the key to the great mystery of the book of Revelation. This is the story of Jesus. He was born as a son. He died, and it was done. He lives again and has come to create a living community in himself and the Father through the Spirit. Experiencing Revelation presents a new perspective on this book of the Bible. Rather than analyze countless details separately, the apostle John’s Revelation is best understood as it was designed–a three-act dramatic play revealing Jesus Christ, to be experienced straight through as a whole.

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.