Unshattered

One of the best-selling biography titles in my store this year is Unshattered by Carol J. Decker with Stacey K. Nash. The book is Carol's story, and what a story it is! When she was thirty-three weeks along in her second pregnancy, something felt terribly wrong. She went to the hospital, where she was eventually rushed for an emergency C-section. The C-section itself took only ten minutes. But Carol was in the operating room for a long time afterwards. Finally, her husband, Scott, got the news from the doctor: Carol had sepsis and was in septic shock.

The toxins released into the blood by sepsis eventually cost Carol her two feet, one hand, a finger on the other hand, and her eyesight. When she was being wheeled in for surgery, nobody had any idea it was the last time she would ever see her family. She never got to see the face of her second daughter.

Carol's story is raw, real, and beautiful. She is very frank and honest about what it was like to feel completely shattered, to have your life seemingly stolen from you. She is honest about her bad days--of which she had many. It was not an easy journey from her first surgery to where she is now.

But her story is still beautiful and one of hope. Slowly, she learned to let go of the parts of her life that were gone, but likewise learned to embrace the parts she retained and the parts that were new. She had a lot of help along the way. After expressing her sadness that she'd never be able to make cookies or cook with her daughters, Erin, their nanny, involved Carol in making cookies and pizza. Through the help of others, she slowly began to realize that there were so many things she could still do.

Carol's family was an incredible support to her. Her husband wore so many hats, yet never faltered in his love for her and determination to make her life as full and wonderful as possible. Her two brothers would spend days on end with her at the hospital. Her parents were there for her. Sadly, one of her brothers died of an overdose. Going to his funeral was hard, but also a turning point for Carol, as she found new purpose in her life through comforting the survivors in her family.

Although she has made so much progress and been able to do incredible things like surf, snorkel, and ski, Carol acknowledges that there are probably still many challenges ahead. But she doesn't despair because of them. She has learned to choose a beautiful life.