Miracle for Jen: A Tragic Accident, a Mothers Desperate Prayer, and Heavens Extraordinary Answer

On the night of November 5, 2006, the Barrick family was driving home from church when their van was struck by a drunk driver. Fifteen-year-old Jen suffered multiple skull fractures and severe brain trauma and was not expected to survive the night. But against all odds, she did. As she lingered in a coma, doctors warned that if Jen ever woke up, she would be cursing and screaming in confusion due to her brain injuries. Instead, after five weeks she opened her eyes and began praying and praising God. Jen didn?t remember her middle name, recognize her parents, or recall that she had a little brother-but she remembered Jesus and every word to every praise song and scripture she had hidden in her heart before the accident. As any loving mother would, Jen?s mother Linda wanted God to heal Jen-make her like she was before. Normal. But a loving God had something else in mind-instead of making her normal, God is making Jennifer-and the whole Barrick family-extraordinary, miraculous.Miracle for Jen is the remarkable true story of a family who overcame tragedy and learned to trust Gods plan for their lives in a whole new way. Review A mother?s searching memoir about how she and her family found their faith tested in the aftermath of a devastating car crash.Baptist evangelical speaker Barrick had the perfect life. A Bible study leader, she was happily married and had two blessed children. Her son was a gifted athlete; her daughter, Jen, was a ?straight-A honor student, varsity soccer player and nationally ranked varsity cheerleader? who loved God. But in 2006, tragedy struck when a drunk driver collided head-on with the car in which she and her family were riding. Her son escaped with bruises and scratches while Barrick and her husband suffered multiple fractures and severe lacerations. Jen was hurt worst of all and sustained life-threatening head injuries. Barrick and her husband struggled to come to terms with their now-shattered lives as Jen lay in a coma for over a month. Against all odds, she began to respond; even more amazingly, she started conversing with God in language that was perfectly intelligible. Like her mother and father, Jen recovered her health, but was even more profoundly changed by the accident than they were. Now brain-injured and nearly blind, she was only able to regain normal speech with great effort, although her ability to speak to God unimpaired continued to astound those around her. Barrick admits throughout to longing for a daughter who could be ?normal? again. But through Jen, she came to understand that her human desires were secondary to God?s plan, which was to give her daughter ?her own special place in His world.? The author?s story is moving but will no doubt frustrate secular readers, as she remains silent about other neurologically based explanations for her daughter?s remarkable abilities and recovery.Likely to appeal only to Christian readers. (Kirkus Reviews) From the Inside Flap ?Lord . . . take this year and my life and allow Your glory to shine! Take it and use it to its fullest potential.?an entry from Jen Barrick?s journal, written just three months before the crashIn her journals, fifteen-year-old Jennifer Barrick had poured out her heart to God, asking him to use her life. But when her family?s van was struck head-on by a drunk driver, her parents, Andy and Linda, and her brother, Josh, were severely injured . . . and Jennifer was not expected to live through the night.God intervened.CT scans after the accident, though, showed severe damage throughout every area of Jen?s brain. Once she regained consciousness, she struggled to find even the simplest words, and when she spoke, her speech was so garbled it was hard to understand her.But Jen remembered Jesus and His love for her. And when she sang and prayed, she sounded just like her old self-her words were clear, her voice was strong. It was as if everything but her soul had