MIRACLE FOR JEN

A mother’s searching memoir about how she and her family found their faith tested in the aftermath of a devastating car crash.

Baptist evangelical speaker Barrick had the perfect life. A Bible study leader, she was happily married and had two blessed children. Her son was a gifted athlete; her daughter, Jen, was a “straight-A honor student, varsity soccer player and nationally ranked varsity cheerleader” who loved God. But in 2006, tragedy struck when a drunk driver collided head-on with the car in which she and her family were riding. Her son escaped with bruises and scratches while Barrick and her husband suffered multiple fractures and severe lacerations. Jen was hurt worst of all and sustained life-threatening head injuries. Barrick and her husband struggled to come to terms with their now-shattered lives as Jen lay in a coma for over a month. Against all odds, she began to respond; even more amazingly, she started conversing with God in language that was perfectly intelligible. Like her mother and father, Jen recovered her health, but was even more profoundly changed by the accident than they were. Now brain-injured and nearly blind, she was only able to regain normal speech with great effort, although her ability to speak to God unimpaired continued to astound those around her. Barrick admits throughout to longing for a daughter who could be “normal” again. But through Jen, she came to understand that her human desires were secondary to God’s plan, which was to give her daughter “her own special place in His world.” The author’s story is moving but will no doubt frustrate secular readers, as she remains silent about other neurologically based explanations for her daughter’s remarkable abilities and recovery.

Likely to appeal only to Christian readers.