Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
by Don & Susie Van Ryn, Newell Colleen & Whitney Cerak
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Book Summary Information
Author: Don & Susie Van Ryn, Newell Colleen & Whitney CerakContributor: Mark Tabb
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-31
ISBN: 1439153558
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Howard Books
Book Reviews of Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
Book Review: Sad, but Uplifting Story of Despair, Hope, Love and Faith
Summary: 4 Stars
Told in alternating chapters from both families, it's the story of a case that made headlines around the nation: Whitney Cerak and Suzie Van Ryn, both from the same small religious school, involved in a fatal car accident that left Whitney dead and Suzie critically injured, causing both families to question themselves and their faith. Whitney's family buries their daughter and tries to heal, while Suzie's parents keep vigil at their daughter's bedside, praying for her recovery.
The Ceraks attend Whitney's funeral, and the Van Ryns rejoice in Suzie's every milestone: learning to eat again, learning to walk again, learning to acknowledge her surroundings.
But strange things begin to happen. The family begins to notice scars and piercings Suzie didn't previously have. Perhaps the family overlooked them. Suzie begins asking for people whom her family doesn't know. Perhaps it's the brain injury. But when Suzie learns to write again and the nurse asks her to write down her name, she grabs the pen and struggles to write: "W-H-I-T-N-E-Y."
It suddenly becomes painfully clear what has happened. A mix-up. Suzie is actually Whitney. The tables turn. The family that has so painstakingly brought a child back from the edge of death, must come to terms with the realization that their own daughter is actually dead. And a family that has buried a child and healed their wounds, now can rejoice in the fact that she is alive.
The story is well-written and lets us see what happens when tragedy strikes, twice, and when peoples' faith is tested. It's an amazing story of how both families struggle to come to terms with what has happened, and then must struggle again when the tables turn.
The writing can be a little preachy sometimes, religion certainly weaves in and out of every page. But I really wanted to know more about the crash - how did it happen, the logistics? I wanted to know more about how the mix-up happened - who was responsible, how can we prevent this from happening to another family?
A tough read, but a good one.
Summary of Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
Meet Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak: one buried under the wrong name, one in a coma and being cared for by the wrong family.This shocking case of mistaken identity stunned the country and made national news. Would it destroy a family? Shatter their faith? Push two families into bitterness, resentment, and guilt?
Read this unprecedented story of two traumatized families who describe their ordeal and explore the bond sustaining and uniting them as they deal with their bizarre reversal of life lost and life found.
And join Whitney Cerak, the sole surviving student, as she comes to terms with her new identity, forever altered, yet on the brink of new beginnings.
Mistaken Identity weaves a complex tale of honesty, vulnerability, loss, hope, faith, and love in the face of one of the strangest twists of circumstances imaginable.
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