I was somewhat dubious when I picked this up--whenever I read about people claiming to have heard messages from God having taken trips to heaven that tends to be my reaction. I haven't read any of the "classic" heavenly tourism books, I blogged my reasons a while ago.

However, this book was something different. The Barrick family were transformed after suffering a catastrophic head on collision with a drunk driver. All four members of their family were injured and the driver of the other vehicle remains in a vegetative state. Jen Barrick, 15 years old at the time of the crash, was in a coma for a period having suffered a severe brain injury. When she emerged she had reverted to a young child status and whilst there have been improvements, her injuries are effectively permanent and life altering.

The remarkable aspect to this story, authored by Jen's mother, and the focus of the book was on Jen's spiritual life which seemed to remain intact despite her ordeal. She prayed, sang songs and recited Bible verses long before she was able to communicate with people again. Her family believed she was in the presence of Jesus and having one to one conversations with Him. Whether or not that was the case, the expressions of her faith demonstrate a spiritual maturity and a simple, straight-forward trust in God that most people would admire.

This book is unusual as it mostly deals not with the tragedy itself but with the family's response to it--the aftermath as it were. They had a choice, they could blame God and become bitter and angry or they could choose to believe that even the accident was part of God's plan for their lives. Jen led the way in choosing the latter despite her injuries, her family followed suit.

The honesty of the author in describing how she dealt with things and was forced ultimately to give it all to God will definitely inspire others dealing with tragedy or changed circumstances. Jen's diary entries, both before and after the crash, give insight to a young soul desperate to reach out to others with the message of salvation and to follow God's plan for her life, alone or with others. Can an accident such as this really be part of God's plan? Was it God's answer to her prayer?--she would probably say that she is more effective as a witness now than she was before the accident...

I recommend this book--there is an honesty and humanity about it that is missing from a lot of biographies. The author details her struggles and heartache clearly but chooses to trust God. The only drawback is that the final few chapters are a bit repetitive. There is no swearing, violence or sexual content.



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The Barrick family was your average family, and Jen was your average teenager who spent her time cheer leading, with friends and focusing on her relationship with God. After one night a tragic accident left the family injured and torn apart trying to find their way back together. Jen was left in coma, unresponsive and unsure of the possibility of her recovering. As the community pulls together in prayer miracles continue to happen for the Barrick family, while Jen struggles to hold basic conversations she has the ability to speak clearly and praise God.

Linda Barrick shares the struggles and triumphs that her family went through because of a tragic accident and how her family and community across the nation pulled together to do what God has called this family to do. This book will give you a glimpse of how what no one ever expected or how many would have blamed God challenged a family to praise Him even more. This book is full of miracle after miracle as Jen recovers and discovers a calling and answer to prayer she could have never imagined.

I was provided this book complimentary from Tyndale Publishing in exchange for an honest book review. All opinions are my own. ( )

Sometimes life can change in an instant. The plans that we had laid out in front of us, the goals in life we had hoped to achieve, even a simple dinner plan with friends can be changed in the blink of an eye. That is just what happened to the Barrick family. One minute they were on their way home from an event at church where they watched their daughter, Jen sing in the church choir and preparing for dinner at their house to celebrate with family and friends. However when a drunk driver slammed into their mini van at 80 mph head on, what they would be left with would be considered a miracle.

In the novel, Miracle for Jen by Linda Barrick and John Perry, the reader is taken on a fateful journey that forever changed the lives of not only the Barrick family, but for every single person to be impacted by their story that is captured from start to finish in the beautiful memoir. What would later be a series of miracles that began from before the accident to years later, this book will take you on a walk with angels and with God as He carefully orchestrates a plan to use Jen's life in a very powerful way. This will change your walk with God and also show you just how powerful our prayers can be and they really do communicate with Jesus and His Father.

I don't think anyone who reads this book will ever be the same again. I personally have never encounter a teenagers faith as strong as Jen's prior to her accident and even more so afterwards. This has renewed my faith and increased my prayer life. I will never take things for granted again and will be working to make my own personal walk with God more diligent and powerful. I think that is exactly what Jen and God had planned in the most unexpected ways.

This is the journey of Jen's spiritual walk even before her accident, how she found God in her recovery efforts when she couldn't remember her mom's name but remember her favorite scriptures and songs of praise and worship. When her efforts at speech seemed futile, her prayers to God in the company of those who heard her, showed that Jen has a unique relationship with God that not only walked through that valley with friends and family but helped her see His purpose in it all.

I received Miracle for Jen compliments of Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review and have to say it's a must read for anyone wanting to know what faith looks like. There are many pictures of before and after the accident and for Jen and her family to be alive at all, is a miracle in itself. This one rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my personal opinion and I can't wait for you to read about Jen's story! ( )