Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
Stock No: WW915350
Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope  -     By: Don Van Ryn, Susie Van Ryn, Newell Cerak, Colleen Cerak

Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope

Howard Books / 2009 / Paperback

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Product Description

When five Taylor University students and staff were killed in a tragic accident, one survivor---hospitalized and in a coma---was identified as Laura Van Ryn. Another young woman, Whitney Cerak, was buried. The discovery that the girls had been mistaken for each other changed their families forever. An amazing story of healing---and the bonds of faith! 288 pages, softcover from Howard.

Product Information

Title: Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope
By: Don Van Ryn, Susie Van Ryn, Newell Cerak, Colleen Cerak
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 288
Vendor: Howard Books
Publication Date: 2009
Dimensions: 9 X 6 (inches)
Weight: 14 ounces
ISBN: 1439153558
ISBN-13: 9781439153550
Stock No: WW915350

Publisher's Description

A grief reversed. A hope deferred. Mistaken Identity tells the unprecedented story of Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak: one buried under the wrong name, and the other in a coma being cared for by the wrong family.

Five lives were lost in a tragic car accident, and the sole survivor was rushed to the hospital, where she remained in a coma for five weeks. Everyone believed that Laura Van Ryn was in a coma, and that Whitney Cerak had died in the crash—until Whitney woke up.

This shocking case of mistaken identity stunned the country and made national news. Would it destroy a family? Shatter their faith? Push two families into bitterness, resentment, and guilt? In Mistaken Identity, the Van Ryn family and the Cerek family describe their ordeal and explore the bond sustaining and uniting them as they deal with their bizarre reversal of life lost and life found.

Mistaken Identity weaves a complex tale of honesty, vulnerability, loss, hope, faith, and love in the face of one of the strangest twists of circumstances imaginable.

Author Bio

The Van Ryn family -- Don, Susie, Lisa, Kenny, and Mark -- of Grand Rapids, Michigan shares an avid interest in outdoor recreation. Don and Susie, married for thirty years, are leaving their chosen professions to dedicate themselves full time to an outdoor camping experience for youth in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Lisa is pursuing a career in physical therapy, and Kenny lives and works in Southern California. Mark is recently married and resides in the Detroit area.

Despite the sorrow surrounding the passing of their daughter Laura,the family continues to be involved in the work of their local church and community.

The Cerak family -- Newell, Colleen, Carly, Whitney and Sandra Sepulveda -- lives in northern Michigan, where Newell is a youth pastor and Colleen is a PE teacher and coach.

Carly graduated from Taylor University and has lived in Africa for the last six months starting a new ministry to street kids.

Sandra took a year from Grand Valley State University and joined with Invisible Children to bring awareness of the plight of children in Uganda. She is currently back at GVSU finishing her nursing degree.

Whitney is now a junior at Taylor University majoring in psychology. She is confident in God's healing and the revelation of the Holy Spirit in her life.

Mark Tabb has authored and co-authored over twenty books, including Living with Less, the Upside of Downsizing Your Life (B&H), and the 2004 Gold Medallion finalist, Out of the Whirlwind (B&H). He also collaborated with Stephen Baldwin on the New York Times bestseller, The Unusual Suspect (FaithWords). Mark is currently working with Alec Baldwin on his book, A Promise to Ourselves (St. Martin’s Press).

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