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Beauty in the Broken Places  By  cover art

Beauty in the Broken Places

By: Allison Pataki, Lee Woodruff, David Levy
Narrated by: Allison Pataki, Lee Woodruff - foreword, David Levy - epilogue
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Publisher's summary

The harrowing but ultimately life-affirming story of a young woman, pregnant with her first child, who is on a plane with her 30-year old physician husband when he has a near fatal stoke.

On the flight to their "babymoon" in Hawaii before their first child arrived, Allison Pataki's husband turned to her to ask if his eye looked strange, and then suddenly lost consciousness. After making an emergency landing, they discovered that Dave, a lifelong, healthy athlete and orthopedic surgery resident at Rush Medical School in Chicago, had suffered a rare, and often fatal, stroke.

Dave was one of the lucky ones though, and he survived, but the man who woke up from his coma was not the same man Allison had fallen in love with at Yale, the man she had given a four leaf clover to the night they got engaged with the caption: "May we always remember how lucky we are."

In this stirring, deeply personal memoir, Pataki recounts the challenging year that followed: Dave's turbulent road to recovery; the joyous birth of their daughter; the struggle and isolation of being a caretaker; the support from family and loved ones; and her own reexamination of their future with the understanding of how fragile life is and how lucky we are to have the chance to live it.

©2018 Allison Pataki (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A beautifully woven, suspenseful love story with a stunning victory, reminding us of the resilience of the human spirit, and that anything is possible with a loving tribe." (Marcia Gay Harden, Academy Award-winning actress and author of The Seasons of My Mother)

"A best-selling historical novelist's account of how she survived the harrowing year following her young husband's unexpected stroke.... The strength of this end-of-innocence book lies in its demystification of the idea that strokes only occur in older people.... [A] heartfelt account of dedication and devotion." (Kirkus Reviews)

“Bold and commendable... A strength of this memoir is [Allison Pataki’s] scrupulous honesty.” (USA Today)

What listeners say about Beauty in the Broken Places

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A Most Remarkable and Inspirational Story

I loved the audible presentation of Beauty in the Broken Places! Alison Pataki narrates her own book in such a warm and comfortable, familiar style that it seems like she's telling me the story over a cup of coffee on the backyard porch. This book was particularly meaningful to me as my wife and I are starting down the frightening path of treatment for my recently diagnosed cancer. While I know TBI and cancer are very different and present their own unique challenges, Allison's story gives me hope and comfort, and the courage to face my upcoming cancer treatment. Her story makes me even more grateful for the blessings of my own family and friends, especially my wife of 33 years and our seven children and six grandchildren. Thank you for sharing your journey.

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5 people found this helpful

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Comes off as amateurish

A great idea for a story, but not well developed and timeline alternates between present and past, making about 1 year of time seem like forever.

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3 people found this helpful

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amateur writing

The story is good but someone else should have done the writing and narration. What a horrible thing to go through but she should have had help with the writing. It felt a little boring and long when she went back to the past and dating days.

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2 people found this helpful

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Makes you believe in marriage vows again!

As a stroke survivor, I have a biased connection with the story. I would buy a copy for all of those taking care of a spouse who has suffered a stroke. It is a poignant story told in plain and simple language that equates to a conversation with the author. Very special book written by a caregiver surviving emotional and physical challenges of coping with the aftermath of a stroke.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Touching Story of Love and Commitment

Sweet story I survival and thriving in the face of adversity. Loved this tender book.

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1 person found this helpful

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So inspiring!

So real and powerful all of the wise and candid words shared in this story. Everyone, read it and learn how to handle things with grace and gratitude!

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beautiful reminder of life

A wonderfully written story of one couples experience of horrible medical tragedy. I only wish it could have continued to more present day to hear how they overcome struggle as things truly settled into routine. but that's what the internet is for!

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Wow!

Such an honest, raw, and transparent expression of love that ends in a feel good experience!!

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Wonderful Book

Wonderful book and beautiful story of life, love, struggle, and the power of prayer! God is good!

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Grateful

This beautiful and candid story helped my family find it’s beauty in it’s broken places. I am very grateful to the author for having courage and the grace to write this.

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