In His Own Time is a work of non fiction and explores the remarkable story of Rhonda “Faye” Baker. A gifted athlete, from a family of gifted athletes, who in October 2000 experienced a life changing event, and one that I would wish on no one. While on a church excursion the 12 passenger van she was traveling in experienced a rear tire blowout causing the van to roll over three times before coming to a stop upside down in a ditch next to the I 95. Most of the passengers escaped with cuts and bruises, alas Faye was not so lucky.
Faye was severely hurt and had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital. The prognosis was grim, the barely conscious woman was told by some realistic, but in my mind rather cold doctors “You have a broken neck, and you will never walk again”. Note the use of the phrase ‘will never’ rather than ‘may never’. This is hardly the kind of news that anyone would want to hear.
Faye Baker though is no quitter, and In His Own Time reveals just how powerful this woman’s will to succeed is. She was 37 at the time of the accident, a lady in her prime, an up and coming basketball coach, and to the girls on her team, the lady Tigers of the Bradwell Institute in Georgia, she was a true role model.
Author Tamara Pray Frazier is a close friend of Faye and leads us through the long and frustrating battle to regain some mobility. Things that we take for granted, tying a shoelace or putting on a sock are suddenly daunting tasks. To go from able bodied healthy woman to being as helpless as a new born child would break all but the strongest wills. Faye did not waver, her faith in God, and other people s faith in her, somehow helped overcome what seemed insurmountable problems.
No, she will never again play basketball or run in a marathon, but, through sheer grit and determination, and maybe a smattering of good luck, she has regained mobility. Against all of the odds and the medical prognosis she can walk with the assistance of two canes. Better still, she is once more an active coach in the basketball arena. Faye will likely never recover the fine motor skills she had, and that is something I can understand more than most, following a stroke last year.
I admire Faye, and I admire Tamara Pray Frazier for having the courage to tell this story. As a reviewer I found myself torn as to how to approach this book. I think it would be fair to say that the author has had little writing experience and that minimalist editing was applied, resulting in a work that is somewhat choppy. The critic in me feels that rather than using a constant ‘voice’, she allows the voice to wander. The book reader in me has a different sentiment, it says that this is a compelling story, and one that I am glad these ladies have opted to share with the world.
It is Christmas Eve, and as I sit on my front porch, (well it is 70 degrees, and type out this review), I can honestly say that this was the perfect book to read today. Christmas is a time of giving. This is a story that gives, it gives hope, it gives faith, and above all it gives thanks.
You can get your copy of In His Own Time from Amazon.
(Originally published at Blogger News Network and reprinted with permission from the author, Simon Barrett).
Author Resource:-
Simon Barrett is the senior editor for http://www.bloggernews.net and maintains a personal blog at http://zzsimonb.blogspot.com. Now semi retired in the depths of Mississippi he has plenty of time to read books by up and coming authors.
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