Title: Broken To Be Blessed
Author: Louise Beaubrun-Macaluso, PhD
Publisher: Toplink Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1948962513
Pages: 184
Genre: Memoir
Reviewed by: Tara Mcnabb
Hollywood Book Review
Powerful and moving, Louise Beaubrun-Macaluso’s Broken To Be Blessed is a fascinating chronicle of one woman’s journey through tragedy, ultimately leading to healing and a renewed faith in God.
The author begins by tracing her childhood roots in Haiti, where she developed close bonds with her siblings. Her unique background and upbringing gives the book a deeper context which resonates strongly later on when her parents decide to let her move to the United States. This decision, unbeknown to her at the time, would become one of the most transformative periods of her life. Facing both fear and loneliness, she nonetheless makes the leap on the suggestion of family members already living in the USA. Her initial experiences of excitement combined with trepidation are honestly described, giving the reader a sense of intimacy, as if she is speaking to you and you alone.
But all too soon, a nightmare takes hold. When she is suddenly woken up in the middle of the night only to realize the house is on fire, panic sets in as she and her relatives scramble to escape the flames around them. Although help is on the way, doors and windows are blocked off, making the prospect of death seem imminent. After passing out from the smoke, she wakes up in a hospital, her body severely burned. It’s a miracle she was rescued and survived; several of her relatives, she finds out later, perished in the flames. Despair leads to shock when she realizes the extent of her injuries; her body is so badly burned that it will take months to heal and the feeling of chronic pain will become a constant throughout her life. As her day-to-day existence becomes an endless series of doctors, nurses and medications, simple movements which were taken for granted must be learned all over again. Her suffering and depression are so intensely described, and one can’t help but feel that the author was the victim of a cruel fate, but she herself does not see it this way, and in that lies the heart and soul of her book.
Where most people would crumble under the weight of such a life-changing tragedy, Louise Beaubrun-Macaluso transforms her pain into an opportunity to be closer to God. If it was not for her faith in His love, she might not have made it. She describes more than once how her devotion and unquestioning faith in Him has kept her strong, despite the physical pain and isolation. Such a display of conviction is astounding and ultimately inspiring, causing us to question our own resolve in the face of life’s challenges. As she slowly begins to heal, her belief that things will get better never leaves her, and to her surprise she accomplishes more than she ever thought possible.
A profound memoir of hope and personal tragedy, Broken To Be Blessed should serve as a lesson for all of us about the power of faith to see us through life’s darkest hours.