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Beautifully Broken: Finding Hope During Loss
Where do you turn when your worst nightmare comes true? Imagine one moment you're heading on vacation and the next moment you're on the phone with a police detective from the Crime Scene Unit. Then, envision hanging on to the other end of that phone for 90 minutes waiting to find out if the person who was found dead in a hotel room is your child. This is what happened to Pat Elsberry and her family. "Beautifully Finding Hope During Loss" is vulnerable and heart wrenching, as it shares Pat Elsberry's walk through grief and tragedy. She delivers her story with grit and grace as she tells us how Substance Use Disorder came to be a part of her family's life.
Pat's daughter, Melanie, died from an accidental drug overdose in February 2020. She was only 38 years old and left behind a lifetime of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. No goodbye. No last hug. Melanie was a beautiful, but broken girl who struggled with the disease of Substance Use Disorder.
How did she get here? Isn't this something that happens to other people? Who do you turn to during this sad, lonely, and oftentimes anxiety-ridden journey called grief?
Pat's reliance on her faith touches us is in a very real and palpable way as she gives her heart a voice. We see that she didn't just pull her faith out of the air when tragedy hit. She helps us see that death is hard and the grief journey is one of the toughest roads we travel in life. Yet, living a life full of faithful trust is what brings us through the valley of the shadow of death.
Pat's daughter, Melanie, died from an accidental drug overdose in February 2020. She was only 38 years old and left behind a lifetime of unfulfilled hopes and dreams. No goodbye. No last hug. Melanie was a beautiful, but broken girl who struggled with the disease of Substance Use Disorder.
How did she get here? Isn't this something that happens to other people? Who do you turn to during this sad, lonely, and oftentimes anxiety-ridden journey called grief?
Pat's reliance on her faith touches us is in a very real and palpable way as she gives her heart a voice. We see that she didn't just pull her faith out of the air when tragedy hit. She helps us see that death is hard and the grief journey is one of the toughest roads we travel in life. Yet, living a life full of faithful trust is what brings us through the valley of the shadow of death.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 18, 2022
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 5, 2022
This is a courageous, loving, and generous book.
Pat Elsberry shares the intensely personal account of how she and her family encountered and suffered through her daughter’s tragic addiction to drugs, an addiction that took her life at the age of 38. That account makes up Part One, approximately one half of the book.
The second half, titled “The Grief Journey,” is something from which everyone who has experienced bereavement – and who doesn’t? – could draw strength and encouragement. Each of its chapters could stand on its own as a source of wisdom for daily meditation and reflection along the way of the reader’s own unique grief journey.
Pat Elsberry shares the intensely personal account of how she and her family encountered and suffered through her daughter’s tragic addiction to drugs, an addiction that took her life at the age of 38. That account makes up Part One, approximately one half of the book.
The second half, titled “The Grief Journey,” is something from which everyone who has experienced bereavement – and who doesn’t? – could draw strength and encouragement. Each of its chapters could stand on its own as a source of wisdom for daily meditation and reflection along the way of the reader’s own unique grief journey.
March 5, 2023
Pat beautifully walks us through not only her grief journey, but a remarkable life - her daughter’s, Melanie. She writes her story in such a way that I felt as if I personally knew her daughter. Her friendly and conversational tone has inspired and encouraged me to walk closely with Jesus and love those around me, well. 5-stars aren’t enough! I’d recommend this book to anyone with a “bleeding heart” for people.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews