Taking My Life Back by Rebekah Gregory

Spread the love

Taking My Life Back: My Story of Faith, Determination and Surviving the Boston Marathon Bombing by Rebekah Gregory with Anthony Flacco

Affiliate links included. This book was received in exchange for an honest review.

Taking My Life Back: My Story of Faith, Determination, and Surviving the Boston Marathon BombingStars: ****

Revell (Division of Baker Publishing Group) 2017
Autobiography
230 pages

Summary:  On April 15, 2013, Rebekah Gregory and her five-year-old son waited at the finish line of the Boston Marathon to support a friend who was running. When the blasts of terrorists’ homemade bombs packed with nails and screws went off three feet away, Rebekah’s legs took the brunt of the blast, protecting her son from certain death. Eighteen surgeries and sixty-five procedures later, her left leg was amputated.

Despite the extraordinary trauma she underwent and the nightmares she continues to have, Rebekah sees it as just another part of her personal journey, a journey that has led her through abuse, mistakes, and pain and into the arms of Jesus. This stirring memoir tells the story of her recovery, including her triumphant return to Boston two years later to run part of the race, and explores the peace we experience when we learn to trust God with every part of our lives–the good, the bad, and even the terrifying.

I must admit the book was not what I was expecting but that turned out to be just fine. I was dealing with major health issues during the time of the Boston Marathon Bombing and as such wasn’t aware of all the details because I was not up on all the news. I hadn’t heard of Rebekah Gregory before this book. So I misunderstood and thought Rebekah had been a runner in the marathon and that the book would be about only the bombing and her healing afterwards. The book is about much more than that but as I said, although it wasn’t what I was expecting, it was a great read. I consider it an honour to be allowed a glimpse into her life both before and after the event.

Whether you are familiar with the bombing incident and/or know who Rebekah Gregory is or like me, are just hearing about her for the first time, this book will be a deep look into how a person can recover from a horrible incident by keeping her faith in the Christian religion.

In the middle of the book are colour photos of Rebekah as a child, in the hospital after the incident and a year or two later. While I love looking at photographs of people who I read about in books, I really wish they wouldn’t put them in the middle of the book. The reason is, the photographs often show something that hasn’t been written about in the book yet. That was true of this book as well. It’s not a big deal really as the book will tell you about it eventually but I would have preferred not knowing what was happening in her recent past while reading about years before that.

The book mentions her faith in God a lot since this was a big part of her story. If you are struggling with your faith or believing in God when bad things happen, you will find the book inspiring.

I’m glad I got to read Rebekah’s story and I’m sorry I wasn’t more aware of the event when it happened. I don’t know what i could have done to help but I would have like to at least share my support.

Buy Taking My Life Back from Amazon and help support the blog.

About Kathleen

I've been a nonfiction lover for as long as I can remember. I love children's nonfiction as well and love to share my knowledge and the books I gained them from, with the world. I wish more people would give nonfiction a chance.