I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis
by Jerry White
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jerry WhiteEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-29
ISBN: 031236895X
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Book Reviews of I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis
Book Review: I will not be broken review by Lorna Koskela (see-through faith)
Summary: 3 Stars
I've had this book since early June. Actually I ended up with two copies because of a mix-up with the delivery services, but that's another story. And I'm sorry for the delay in the review.
I read the book about a month ago. In short, Jerry White - co-founder of Survivor Corps - lost his leg in 1984 in a landmine accident. He wasn't a soldier, he was a student. One day when hiking in northern Israel with two friends, and while looking for a decent place to pitch camp for the night, they stumbled in a mine-field. He lost his leg. He almost lost his life.
What I liked about the book was that it didn't focus only on what happened to Jerry. Not even on how he survived. This is most definitely not a "woe-is-me", or this could-have-happened-to-you book. Instead the book is full of narrative accounts of survival stories, some of which really hit home. Take the story of Margaret in Uganda in 1998, who was attacked by guerrillas, (p 73-75) or of Bobana whose parents were killed in a paragliding accident (p96-97), or Colleen a survivor of childhood abuse (p144-5) - all of them are living proof that they will not be broken by their circumstances, and I love that.
Jerry White joined Princess Diana in her brave stand against landmines. He writes:
Princess Diana understood that to survive means to endure something that could have killed you or "taken you down. Like the loss of a son or daughter. Like stepping on a landmine. (p 16)
Now I'm not a royalist but she earned `Brownie points' from me back in 1997 (a few months before her death) for this. Bono says and shows how you can use your influence for good. In her latter years Diana did just that -and I applaud it even now. You see landmines are viscious and nasty. War always is.
I find myself nodding in agreement with much of what White says:
No-one survives on their own, and no-one thrives alone, either. ... We are not built to survive solo. ... We have to let the people in our life into our life.
In Finland there's an expression "minä itse" which means me, alone, I can do it myself. And all too often we - not only in Finland - fall into that trap. It is painful to depend on others, it is scary to be open and vulnerable, it is not easy to trust and rely on others. It seems to be easier to do it alone. Yet at best that's the route to surviving, not thriving. why? Because we are called to be in relationship with others.
And that's what I notice what is missing from this book. God.
I will not be broken focuses on the five steps to overcoming a life crisis:
1. Face Facts (accept the harsh reality)
2. Choose Life (say "yes!" to the future)
3. Reach Out (find others seek empathy, not pity)
4. Get Moving (take responsibility and decide how you want to live the rest of your life)
5. Give Back (to thrive rather than survive means learning to give again, to share and serve)
All of these tips are good. They are sound and yes, they are very much needed advice in helpling victims struggle to overcome adversity and crises, but for me - as a Christian - they fail to hit the mark. The survivors' stories are very interesting, they are poignant and heart-breaking, but also full of hope, but because the God who enables these victims to become survivors and who "In faithfulness will bring forth justice" (Isa 42:1) is conspicuouly absent, He isn't even given a mention, for me this books becomes just another self-help, pull-yourself-together, think positively, resource and that's a real shame.
Jerry White is a survivor. I admire his work not only to ban the use of landmines but also his work with LSN (Landmine Survivors Network) -but sadly this book didn't really reach me in the way I expected it to.
6½ /10 on the bookcrossing scale
7: Good book, but it didn't grab me in a *big* way.
6: Decent, but not really my type of book.
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