Life, In Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice
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Life, In Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice
by
4.13 of 5 stars
She wanted to die. God had other plans.

Why does my life have to be so painful?
What’s wrong with me?
It’... read full description

reviews

Feb 21, 2012
Blessedmomfxs rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Struggling with depression, Kristen Anderson acted impulsively. Depression coupled with impulsivity is often lethal. It could have been so for Kristen…but she didn’t die. She just lost both of her legs. She thought she had problems before that winter night. Waking up in intensive care, she wishes her suicide attempt had succeeded. Friends and family tell her, “You’re alive for a reason.” She struggles to find how that can be the case.

Kristen gets professional help, goes on anti-depres More...
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Nov 28, 2011
Head rated it: 5 of 5 stars
On a cold winter's night, Kristen Anderson decides to take a walk. She is having a difficult time with depression, having faced the death of three friends and her grandmother, then a sexual assault by a friend. During her walk, she finds herself in a train yard. Suddenly, the perfect solution appeared to her; she would lay on the tracks, and the oncoming train would end all her pain. But God has a different plan for her. She survives a potentially fatal accident to develop a newfound, yet tentat More...
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Jun 30, 2010
Keiki rated it: 5 of 5 stars
"“If you have a teenager, if you remember your teenage years and all the sad angst that went with it, if you want to read of the redeeming work of your Savior in a young girls life, read this book.”

Depression and suicide are powerful deceptions of the enemy to lure those with the most potential, our youth, away from the gracious love of God. In Life, In Spite of Me, Kristen Jane Anderson tells of her struggle with these oppression thoughts and feelings and how it drove her to th More...
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Jun 02, 2010
Kaylea added it
I received this book in the mail after a horribly busy day at the church. I planned to "thumb" through it a bit, but put it aside until later in the week, when I could give it more attention.

That was until, I opened the book. Quickly, my planned TV watching (Dancing with the Stars) was abandoned. The opening lines hooked me into Kristen Anderson's story.

Honestly, I didn't put the book down until I reached the last page.

Simple, honest and quite straig More...
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May 20, 2010
Staci rated it: 3 of 5 stars
When I picked up this book I honestly had no idea that Kristen lost her legs to her suicide attempt, her cover photo did not make me do a double-take at all. I found myself in shock that a person could actually feel that helpless and lost that they would lay their body across the railroad tracks in hopes of dying. Kristen's story is powerful, there is no doubt about that. But what is missing here is depth. The story is too straightforward and actually feels emotionless. I'm sure that was not th More...
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May 20, 2010
Lydia rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Wow, what a story.

17 year old Kristen Anderson decided one cold evening that there was nothing worth living for any longer. With that decision made she laid down on train tracks near the park she was walking in and lost her legs to a 33 freight-car train going fifty-five miles per hour. She shouldn't have lived - but she did.

Now she speaks about her struggles with trying to remember that night, with depression, with finding a good psychiatrist, re-establishing relations More...
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May 17, 2010
Debbie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
"Life, In Spite of Me" is an inspirational memoir. As a teen, the author's family didn't talk about bad things, so she held all her grief and confusion inside when her father was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and depression, her grandmother died, a friend in her school was put in the hospital with a brain tumor, a close friend committed suicide, and a guy she liked raped her. She turned to drinking and partying in an attempt to find some relief, but that only made things worse. If any More...
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May 17, 2010
Clockstein rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Life in Spite of Me by Kristen Anderson & Tricia Goyer is a proclamation of hope that God has plans for each and every one of us, even when we try to mess them up. The year Kristen turned seventeen, she faced an enormous amount of upheaval and tragedy. Date raped at a party by a cute guy, the death of her beloved grandmother, the suicide of a close friend all steered her toward a hard-drinking and partying lifestyle. When her parents cracked down, grounding her indefinitely, she felt at the end More...
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Oct 13, 2011
Joy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Anyone who has struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts or who knows someone who has or anyone who works with young people needs to have Kristen Jane Anderson's book, Life, In Spite of Me, on his or her bookshelf.

This book will encourage and uplift you and challenge you to reach out to every aching soul around you. We have no idea just how many people around us are struggling to make it through the day.

Kristen shares her journey from a young girl growing up in a " More...
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May 16, 2011
Christen rated it: 5 of 5 stars
By Kristen Jane Anderson

Multnomah

e-book available

$19.99, 207 pages

ISBN 9781601422521

Inspirational

Take a sneak peek here




At the age of seventeen, Kristen Jane Anderson attempted to commit suicide. Dealing with the loss of three friends and her grandmother and a rape all in the course of two years, Kristen felt like she could go on no longer. On a cold January night in icy Illinois, Kristen laid d More...
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Apr 05, 2011
Evelyn rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I really, REALLY liked this book. As one who has suffered with severe depression, and even attempted suicide (though not to the same unreal results the author experienced), I was really able to relate to this story. I felt validated, I felt inspired, and I felt hope as I read of her horrible tragedy-turned blessing. Her change in attitude astounded me, and frankly, prompted me to action. Well written, well put together, this was a pleasant, easy read that kept my attention. The author tell More...
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May 19, 2010
Molly rated it: 5 of 5 stars
With God, ALL things are possible. Including overcoming fatal choices and devestating tragedies. That's what Kristin Anderson learned and she's telling us all about it in her book, co-authored with Tricia Goyer, Life, In Spite of Me.

I'm truly happy I had the chance to review this emotionally gripping story of a brave young woman. It really puts life into perspective and God's light shines strong throughout. This brave young woman went through so much struggle and pain. Reading her s More...
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Jun 26, 2011
Kitty rated it: 5 of 5 stars
KRISTEN JANE ANDERSON'S "LIFE IN SPITE OF ME" (REVIEW)

This book was moving, and heart-wrenching as well as inspiring. Kristen went through so much and still found her way to God and a life she could be proud of. The sad truth is that many people don't realize the heart-ache and turmoil that a lot of teens go through in their lifetime. These young adults need people to reach out to and role models to look up to. I am sure that Kristen is one of them as she has already and will More...
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May 27, 2010
Nora rated it: 5 of 5 stars
“If only I could have figured out how to deal with all the pain inside before it came to this. I was never trying to hurt anyone, yet I had. Especially myself.”

I had seen a video of Oprah Winfrey interviewing Kristen; it was powerful. I remember thinking how could this girl be smiling? When Multnomah offered a review copy of this book, I quickly signed up to help spread the word about the testimony of Christ moving in and through this young woman who found hope and peace in a hopele More...
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Oct 18, 2011
David rated it: 5 of 5 stars
"I'm in the hopsital, can you come do my hair and makeup?"

That part cracks me up. Here you have a girl with two missing legs, laying practically on her death bed and all she cares about is her makeup and hair? No matter where a girl is at, she has to look pretty. Just like a girl. When us guys get ugly, we stay ugly! Seriously, this book is great. At first, when I started reading, our stories sounded very similar, but realized they weren't. However, the advice she gave thro More...
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May 19, 2010
Kristina rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Kristen was only seventeen years old when she decided she had had enough. Life, as far as she was concerned, wasn't worth living. In an attempt to end her life, she laid down on railroad tracks and waited for the next train. The next train indeed came and severed Kristen's legs from her body. Miraculously, Kristen survived and has since accepted Christ as her savior and learned to live life "in spite of herself".

From a story standpoint, it is not my place to like or dis More...
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May 20, 2010
Theresa rated it: 5 of 5 stars
An amazingly powerful yet heartbreaking story of a failed teen suicide. Straight from Kristen's point of view, she tells what drove her to finally decide to kill herself and how it failed. She tells how she had to learn with her one bad choice and how that choice changed her life.

From the moment I opened this book, I was held captivated by Kirsten's story. As a mother, my heart ached for her inability to communicate with her family. As a person, I understood the place where she was at More...
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May 04, 2010
Mandy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
MY REVIEW:

Life, In Spite of Me is the story - the testimony! - of Kristen Anderson and God's amazing hand in her life despite her attempted suicide.

I read this book in two hours and hungrily turned each page as I cried in awe of God's amazing grace. Kristen wrote honestly with tenderness that not only shares her story, but touches you in whatever place you are in right now. I greatly appreciated the openness and the vulnerability with which Kristen shared her story.
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0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Oct 04, 2011
Kristin rated it: 4 of 5 stars
While I didn't realize it when I picked up this book, I felt that it was written with the teenage/early adult female in mind, which, based on the subject matter, is the right target artist. At 17, Kristen Anderson finds her life at a crossroads just after New Year's, and takes a walk around her neighborhood, ending up at a park near some train tracks. Feeling like she has no one to turn to after a recent fight with her parents and the loss of some close friends, Anderson throws herself in front More...
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May 17, 2010
Renee rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Life in Spite of Me is the biography of Kristen Anderson. Her life was going along as many other teens until she experienced the multiple deaths of friends and family within a two year period. Her life begins to spiral downward until one night while grounded, she sneaks out of the house and in an instant makes the life-changing decision to commit suicide by lying on the railroad tracks. Thanks to the protection of God, seventeen year old Kristen survives what no one should but loses both legs.
More...
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Jan 14, 2012
Holly rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Life, In Spite of Me is probably one of the most inspiring books you'll read. I think what makes it even more inspiring is knowing that the girl was so young, and had so many traumatic things happen to her, but yet she is here today to talk about it. The cover goes amazingly well with the novel too. The story can be so dark, but to see her smile on the cover you constantly remind yourself of that to reassure yourself of her pending happiness.
I got chills a couple of times while readi More...
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Oct 20, 2011
Wendy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Life in Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice, by Kristen Jane Anderson, is the self-told story of Kristen's plunge into depression, regret, pain and guilt, culminating with her choice to lay across train tracks, waiting to die. The first chapter, titled "Just let me die," brings us to the night that Kristen decided to kill herself... and for each page that you must turn because you want to know her story, there is an overwhelming weight of fear and dread for what is ab More...
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Mar 24, 2011
Theresa rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This book gripped me from the very beginning. When I began to read this book, I expected to read for half an hour or so, in between housecleaning and laundry duties, but, three hours later, I completed reading the very last page. I was unable to put the book down. This autobiography of a suicide attempt and God's redeeming love, is what the author calls a love story -- of a girl and her God, and how He used her near-fatal choice to draw her to Him.

If you have ever struggled with depr More...
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May 16, 2010
Michelle rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Life, in Spite of Me is a memoir-type book which I found very inspiring and insightful. I got a bit choked up several times, especially at the scene that described Kristen's baptism, because of how much her newly-changed life positively affected her family. This book was well-written and courageous. I loved the parts that read like a novel, such as when she remembered the past events leading up to the night she laid on the tracks. I also loved how detailed the story was regarding the aftermath a More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
May 20, 2010
Jennifer rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This was an amazing book. It was so scary, touching, inspirational, and a million other things that aren't coming to mind right now. It was so full of raw emotion that I cried on many occasions while reading this one. I've never contemplated suicide, I've never been raped and yet I connected with everything Kristen was talking about. The way she tells her story I couldn't help but get pulled into it.

I can't imagine having to deal with what she was going through at such a young age. More...
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May 21, 2010
Bridget rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This book has taken up residence in my heart. Kristen had a lot of negative things happen in her life and the fact that she can now stand tall and share her story is amazing. She went from having a normal life to losing three friends and her grandmother. Then, she was raped by someone she thought she knew. The pain inside got to be too much and Kristen decided that she couldn't take anymore. She decided to lay down on railroad tracks and end her life. But when it came time to die, someone stood More...
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May 23, 2010
Dustin Crazy little brown owl rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I received this book through the goodreads first reads giveaway program. After receiving my free book, I realized it was a Christian Ministry book - the religious overtones did not bother me until the second half of the book. My copy arrived in hardcover - which was a nice surprise. I read the dust jacket flap and was hooked right away - unfortunately the first half of the book interested me more than the second half. The second half is more about Kristen finding a new life in Christ than the at More...
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Jun 11, 2011
Connie rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Kristen was only a teenager when her grandmother and three friends died. This caused her to become depressed and decided that she no longer wanted to live. She decided to commit suicide by laying on train tracks near her home but instead of killing her, the train cut off her legs. Even tho she lost a great amount of blood, she survives. The days were tough but she is determined to figure out why her life was spared. Her family had always been spiritual and she finally turns her life over to More...
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Aug 01, 2011
Trinity rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I love a book that tells of someone’s life. The struggles they go through, the pain they endure and most of the times finding their way to the Lord, the giver, lover of life.

In this book Life, In Spite of Me Extraordinary Hope After a Fatal Choice, Kristen tells of how other members in her family suffered depression, how her grandmother died, how several of her friends committed suicide and how she was raped. She didn’t know how to handle all of these things and she didn’t plan on tr More...
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Feb 12, 2012
Holly rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Kristen felt like she had nothing to live for. After being raped, experiencing the deaths of several friends, and dealing with family problems, Kristen had reached the end of hope. One night she decided to end it all. But God had other plans. The miraculous survival of her attempted suicide launched her into a different life, one that not only set her on the path of a challenging journey, but on the path towards Christ. Kristen tells her story and shares the source of hope in the midst of life's More...
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