Beauty in the Broken Places

A Memoir of Love, Faith, and Resilience

By: Allison Pataki, Lee Woodruff, David Levy

Narrated by: Allison Pataki, Lee Woodruff - foreword, David Levy - epilogue

The harrowing but ultimately life-affirming story of a young woman, pregnant with her first child, who is on a plane with her 30-year old physician husband when he has a near fatal stoke.

On the flight to their "babymoon" in Hawaii before their first child arrived, Allison Pataki's husband turned to her to ask if his eye looked strange, and then suddenly lost consciousness. After making an emergency landing, they discovered that Dave, a lifelong, healthy athlete and orthopedic surgery resident at Rush Medical School in Chicago, had suffered a rare, and often fatal, stroke.

Dave was one of the lucky ones though, and he survived, but the man who woke up from his coma was not the same man Allison had fallen in love with at Yale, the man she had given a four leaf clover to the night they got engaged with the caption: "May we always remember how lucky we are."

In this stirring, deeply personal memoir, Pataki recounts the challenging year that followed: Dave's turbulent road to recovery; the joyous birth of their daughter; the struggle and isolation of being a caretaker; the support from family and loved ones; and her own reexamination of their future with the understanding of how fragile life is and how lucky we are to have the chance to live it.

©2018 Allison Pataki (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A beautifully woven, suspenseful love story with a stunning victory, reminding us of the resilience of the human spirit, and that anything is possible with a loving tribe." (Marcia Gay Harden, Academy Award-winning actress and author of The Seasons of My Mother)

"A best-selling historical novelist's account of how she survived the harrowing year following her young husband's unexpected stroke.... The strength of this end-of-innocence book lies in its demystification of the idea that strokes only occur in older people.... [A] heartfelt account of dedication and devotion." (Kirkus Reviews)

“Bold and commendable... A strength of this memoir is [Allison Pataki’s] scrupulous honesty.” (USA Today)

Incredible story of understanding & marriage

Loved it. Outstanding insight from the story & deeply moving narration. Couldn't wait to read.

Wow!

Such an honest, raw, and transparent expression of love that ends in a feel good experience!!

Simply incredible

What an incredibly honest and moving story of love, heartache and healing. Thank you for putting yourselves out there.

Makes you believe in marriage vows again!

As a stroke survivor, I have a biased connection with the story. I would buy a copy for all of those taking care of a spouse who has suffered a stroke. It is a poignant story told in plain and simple language that equates to a conversation with the author. Very special book written by a caregiver surviving emotional and physical challenges of coping with the aftermath of a stroke.

A Most Remarkable and Inspirational Story

I loved the audible presentation of Beauty in the Broken Places! Alison Pataki narrates her own book in such a warm and comfortable, familiar style that it seems like she's telling me the story over a cup of coffee on the backyard porch. This book was particularly meaningful to me as my wife and I are starting down the frightening path of treatment for my recently diagnosed cancer. While I know TBI and cancer are very different and present their own unique challenges, Allison's story gives me hope and comfort, and the courage to face my upcoming cancer treatment. Her story makes me even more grateful for the blessings of my own family and friends, especially my wife of 33 years and our seven children and six grandchildren. Thank you for sharing your journey.

Touching Story of Love and Commitment

Sweet story I survival and thriving in the face of adversity. Loved this tender book.

A Memoir of Reality, Resilience, and Love

In a year in which I’ve been grappling with so much sadness and loss (the death of my father and the serious illness of my mother), this memoir truly resonated for me. Filled with honesty about what it’s like to partner someone through a traumatic brain injury, Allison’s story is also brimming with love and her growing realization of what a “living a full life” really means. I highly recommend this book!

Wonderful Book

Wonderful book and beautiful story of life, love, struggle, and the power of prayer! God is good!

Grateful

This beautiful and candid story helped my family find it’s beauty in it’s broken places. I am very grateful to the author for having courage and the grace to write this.

beautiful reminder of life

A wonderfully written story of one couples experience of horrible medical tragedy. I only wish it could have continued to more present day to hear how they overcome struggle as things truly settled into routine. but that's what the internet is for!