I just finished reading “Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13” by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. It was very good and a pretty easy read, since it wasn’t as technical as I feared it might be. It was written in a way that anybody could understand it and I discovered that the “Apollo 13” movie adaptation followed the book pretty closely.
On Friday, I started reading “Mistaken Identity” by Don and Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak with Mark Tabb. It is a page-turner and I expect to finish it today.
I remember when I first heard about their story on the news and was dumbfounded at the time that such a thing could happen. I do remember that the two young ladies involved were both blonde and had very similar features. A big part of the story is the inspiring and strong trust, faith, hope, and love of God of all involved and it is truly inspiring to read. Their faith is a wonder. Then, the other part, is the surreal story of mistaken identity, in which two of the accident victims, Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak, were misidentified at the scene of the accident. Their true identities were not discovered until five weeks after the accident. Amazing! An excerpt from the back cover of the book:
“…Five lives were lost in a tragic accident involving a Taylor University van, and one young woman, severely injured and comatose, was rushed to the hospital. Five funerals were held. Families, faculty, students, and communities grieved their losses and joined in prayer and hope as the one young woman, Laura Van Ryn, fought for her life in a hospital bed. The national news spread the story, and people everywhere shared the grief and hope. Five weeks passed…. And then the shock! “Okay, Laura, I would like you to write your name for me,” the occupational therapist said. …”