Imagine if your daughter came back from the dead. How would you feel? Shocked, angry, ecstatic? These were some of the emotions the Cerak family felt when they received a call from the Grant County coroner telling them that their daughter might be alive--five weeks after her funeral. On the other side, the Van Ryn family discovered that the young woman in the hospital bed they thought was their daughter, was not. The girls had been mistaken for each other in the aftermath of a tragic accident. Read about the events that changed these two families forever and how God remains faithful in the midst of tragedy.
Meet Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak: one buried under the wrong name, one in a coma and being cared for by the wrong family.
This shocking case of mistaken identity stunned the country and made national news. Would it destroy a family? Shatter their faith? Push two families into bitterness, resentment, and guilt?
Read this unprecedented story of two traumatized families who describe their ordeal and explore the bond sustaining and uniting them as they deal with their bizarre reversal of life lost and life found.
And join Whitney Cerak, the sole surviving student, as she comes to terms with her new identity, forever altered, yet on the brink of new beginnings.
Mistaken Identity weaves a complex tale of honesty, vulnerability, loss, hope, faith, and love in the face of one of the strangest twists of circumstances imaginable.
In a widely reported incident in 2006, Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak, students at an evangelical college in Indiana, and their families were victims of a ghastly mistake: the wrong girl was identified as the survivor of a car crash that claimed multiple lives. Only after five weeks, when the girl emerged from a coma, was the error discovered. The families and the survivor, Whitney, record their experiences in this heavily Christian account. Those seeking a tale of extraordinary emotions to match the extraordinary circumstances will be disappointed: both families are devoutly religious, and their faith is of the sort that does not admit a great range of feelings. Anger and anguish are quickly recast as professions of faith and celebrations of life in Christ. The Van Ryns immediately embrace Whitney and dismiss a reporter’s suggestion of lawsuits. Nor are the Ceraks bitter, not even Whitney, who suffers brain damage. As they describe it, the story inspires others to adopt their beliefs. (Because of such conversions, Whitney writes that the five people killed in the crash have given their lives for Christ.) Readers who don’t share the authors’ faith may feel alienated, however much they admire the fortitude of the families. (Mar.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5 out of 5 stars)
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5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by erick rock (kannapolis nc), November 18, 2009
I watch this case on TV and touch and touch me very deep, God is so powerfull, even in tragedy you can see God's hands works.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Lori Johnson (Cumberland, MD), October 27, 2009
For me it takes ALOT to keep my attention in a book, I Love to Read, but have a tough time comprehending sometimes if it is something of interest to me... This book was AMAZING the way you got to see "Both" sides of the life that these people had been through, the town, the emergancy personel, it was all a pleasure to read, and yet your heart truly goes out to these people this community for showing that they can and did stick together... The two family's now have a bond i pray they will always have, what a blessing they can be to one another... A+++++
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Monique Graafland (Canada), February 05, 2009
Touching, powerful story. These people really live their faith, something which isn't easy to do in the midst of tragedy. Despite the loss, this book is also a story of hope and love.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by June Driscoll (Grand Rapids, Michigan), January 03, 2009
I bought this book preparing myself for surgery, I started reading it and could not put it down. I have been to many of the same places that this family visited during this tragedy. 8 years ago I lost a daughter who had never been sick a day in her life, through her faith and love for Christ I also turned to the Lord for strength and now am a new Christian. I don't know anyone could ever get through life without Him giving then strength and His grace for every day things. Because of the tragedy I went through with the lost of my daughter I am now so thankful to have the Lord in my life. Trust me if you were not a true believer before reading this book you will be by the end. God bless both the families in it and may your love and strength for Lord continue to touch others.
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Kelly Zwicker-brown (South Portland, ME), January 02, 2009
This book is worth reading. Wow, what a testimony to God's love and the strength He gives us each and every day.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Debbie Thompson (Mineral Wells, TX), September 29, 2008
What an incredible story! What love was shown by both families. I wish my worship time could be as powerful as those of the Cerak family. For whatever reason this happened, if only to see how great our God is!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Laura (Sarasota Florida), August 17, 2008
This story was such an inspiration to my new christian faith. I could only dream of having what these two families had and still have. Their love and trust in the Lord is something I pray for everyday.I have so much I would love to say to these two families. This book has touched my life in a way that I NEVER would have expecxted. Buy it, read it, but most of all LIVE IT. Although a terrible trajedy, a very powerful message is to be heard. John 3:16
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Angela (Potter Wisconsin), July 03, 2008
This was an excellent book that I could not put down. It was a very heartfelt story that will touch anybody that reads it. My heart goes out to the tragedies of all the families involved and how faith will get them through it.
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