Brooke's Journey of Heart ─ A Mother & Daughter Story of Spina Bifida, Home, and Family

Brooke's Journey of Heart is the story of a daughter who lives each day with the disabilities delivered with her at birth and the mother who gave birth to her. Beverly Charles asked her daughter, Brooke Klemme, if she would like to write her story of living with Spina Bifida. Brooke responded, "Yes! There are two sides to every story." Brooke and Beverly show us both sides of their story in the context of faith, family, and friends. In 1971, more than 6000 American children were born with Spina Bifida, but like most people, Beverly Charles knew nothing about this condition until she gave birth to her third and last child. In this touching memoir co-authored by Charles and her daughter Brooke Klemme, we learn first-hand not only what it means, but what it feels like - to raise a disabled child, to watch her suffer and triumph, and to be that child, who now as an adult, tells her side of the story. Most parents will never have to answer this question - should your new baby live? For Brooke's mother, there was only one answer, an answer that would involve multiple surgical procedures, interminable hospital stays, and an army of doctors and therapists - an answer that would change her and her family forever. This book is a spiritual memoir and a medical one. The authors make connections with Eastern and Western religious practices that have seen them through difficult and joyous times for over four decades. Their story transcends the personal to offer hope and help to other parents who have faced the same hard question and who, like Beverly and Brooke, answer "YES." As one reader said, "I loved it. I laughed, cried, got mad, got sad, and now feel like a part of your family."