Growing Wild: Answering the call to rise while staying rooted in love

by Kathryn Vigness

When life pulls you to rock bottom, grow higher in your purpose... A thriving career, happy marriage, and balanced, well-rounded children. Picturesque. Social media-worthy. But what few knew is that by her twenties, Kathryn Vigness had already lived a life full of pain and heartache. At age 15, she had survived a tragic car accident in rural Minnesota, flying through the windshield of her high school sweetheart's car and sustaining life-threatening injuries that left her not only physically, but spiritually, shattered. After the accident, a startling secret sends Kathryn on a decade-long journey for validation. Growing Wild follows Kathryn's life from the farm, as a heartbroken girl longing for answers and certainty, to adulthood where she seeks external acceptance and her "happily ever after." In her quest for identity, she shapeshifts through roles as the fixer, the grad student, the professional, the wife, the mother, the philanthropist, and the caregiver. Checking all the boxes and doing all the right things to create her perfect life, Kathryn realizes she still isn't "there"--which brings her to confront her deepest that she'll never be enough. By growing beyond the white picket fence and returning to her roots, Kathryn is able to forgive herself for her past and finally finds a solstice in unbecoming everything she told herself she had to be--and helping others do the same.

254 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2018

Reviews

[KD · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can forgive occasionally spelling errors or words missing as the editing process is insane. But using the word solstice when the word solace was intended, not once but 4 separate times, well that's just sloppy.

Read this because it was written by someone I knew growing up, but honestly if it wasn't something I could have finished in a few hours I'd have given up. It just felt a bit like woe is me. Maybe it's just because I know of the person so it's weird to read about their life.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. Thank you, Kathryn, for the courage to stand in your own truth. I hope there is much healing as a result, both yours and others who will see themselves in your story.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read on conquering hardship and loss! This book gives you all the feels and is impossible to set down! A must read!

[Gloria Doescher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in 1 day. Kathryn’s story pulled me in and I couldn’t stop reading. She is authentic and vulnerable in sharing her life.