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This moving personal memoir is about the aftermath of a car accident caused by distracted driving. Betty Shaw recounts the harrowing minutes and days following her daughter’s accident and the difficult months and years of recovery that have followed. The struggle is compounded by guilt when Shaw realizes that her daughter was responding to a text that she sent to her when the accident occurs. In addition to detailing the efforts to save her daughter and rebuild her life, Shaw concludes with her daughter’s determination to find a purpose for her suffering and survival as she dedicates her time to sharing her story with audiences as a cautionary tale.
Shaw, with the help of Dave Brown, guides readers along her journey as a mother, offering personal details of her own life as well as a range of emotional responses to the difficulties of her daughter’s recovery. Shaw’s inclusion of Liz’s mental health struggles after the accident offers powerful truths that move well beyond the physical challenges that Liz endures. Liz’s brain injury and the changes to her appearance impact her social interactions. Shaw opens up with unflinching honesty about her inability to help her daughter assimilate to her new normal. In clear prose and a direct style, Shaw shares the highs and lows and offers hope in the midst of suffering, triumph in the face of the unimaginable.
Shaw’s narrative will inspire and uplift as it flicks on a warning light about the dangers of distracted driving and shines a bright shimmering light on the resilience of the human spirit. It is a gift of a story for anyone parenting teenagers who believe they are invincible and indestructible even as they engage in risky behaviors like texting and driving.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review