“That’s it, I thought – use the gift; offer it up, offer it out. Live well, live grateful.”
This beautiful memoir by Lindsey O’Connor is honest, raw and real. Oh, and inspiring. The Long Awakening is a reminder of how precious life is and how faith, hope and love are just as powerful!
On a crisp October day in 2002, Lindsey O’Connor woke from a 47-day medically induced coma. She heard her ecstatic husband’s voice and saw his face as she emerged from the depths of unconsciousness. She was bewildered by the people around her who looked so overjoyed and were so thoroughly attentive and attuned to her every move. Then came the question: “Do you remember that you had a baby?”
Lindsey drifted in and out of consciousness again for weeks. When she finally and gradually surfaced permanently from her long submersion, she struggled to understand that the day her baby came into the world was the day she left it. Her awakening was the happy ending for her family and friends–the miracle they had been praying for–but it was just the beginning of Lindsey’s long and frightening journey toward a new reality.
With visceral images and richly layered storytelling, Lindsey O’Connor vividly tells the poignant true story of the struggle to reenter her world and rebuild her identity. Underlying this life and death battle is a story of lost and found love, the effort to make sense of life-altering events, and the continuing search for self. This moving memoir paints a powerful picture of pain, beauty, and the unsurpassable gift of finally knowing who you are.
O’Connor’s writing flows easily page by page, with details of what she went through, as well as those closest to her (her husband’s role is such an example of selfless love) yet, through the honest struggles and pain I was reminded of beautiful hope and the power in that. She truly is a storyteller!
You don’t have to be a mom to be touched by this story (i.e. me). I can’t imagine going through something like this, but the strength of Lindsey, her husband, their other children and friends is proof that miracles can and do happen.
I recommend this book and hope you’ll pick up a copy!
(Thank you Revell for the review copy in exchange for my honest opinion!)
