Access My Name Is Bryan Edited By Stacy Lynn Carroll Displayed In Manuscript

Wow this brought out so many emotions while reading last night, I went through a lot of tissues and memories too, I know a little first hand about being paralyzed, For me it was only the right side and I was able to learn how to walk, talk again.
So I could really feel for Bryan and his family, I stand amazed at Bryan for the life he has lived and his example,

This story is fiction but it is based on the author's fatherinlaw Bryan Carrol, Bryan at ageon a Church youth activity of a river raft trip inhe dived off a cliff and landed wrong and immediately could not move.
Finally someone jumped in and brought him to surface, Help was far off. It tookhours before a helicopter could reach him,

I just planned to read for a couple of hours last night but I could not put the book down till:am.
I cared and admired about
Bryan, I wanted to know what would happen next to him, Bryan has a good sense of humor and liked to play practical jokes,

If your having a hard time in your life you can look at Bryan's example and be inspired to keep fighting and going forward.


I am glad that I was able to read My Name is Bryan, Stacy has a way of writing that put you into the story and seeing what happened to Bryan, How he lived his life,

Oh I could so see how frustrating and hard it was to not be able to do anything when Matt turned off his wheelchair or squirted his face with a water bottle.


I was given this ebook to read so that I could honestly review My Name is Bryan and be part of it's blog tour.
Well, I listened to it all in one day so I guess that's a good sign, But the book lacked a lot if you ask me, But it is hard to criticize a true story because that is what really happened, However, I did not feel the range of emotions that I thought I should, There wasn't real anger or grieving that would naturally follow an injury like that,
I also found myself disbelieving that the patient, atyears old, would end up marrying his nurse when she wasyears older than he was! He had not even thought about his school or career or future.
It seemed very immature and unrealistic to me but I guess they made it work,
Despite my criticism I am very glad for the Carroll family that things worked out the way they did.
They are a testament to positive attitude, determination and community, Five for the story, three for the writing, Eyeopening and hard to believe, Several points struck me spoilers abound:
They went on a weeklong rafting trip with no communication to the outside world.
It was thes, so obviously no cell phones, but I'm really surprised the guide didn't carry a radio with them.
I can't imagine the father and six boys rowing through the night and then hiking up to the ranger station, only to have the ranger joke that all the phones were out !!, and then having a military helicopter comehours after the father and boys left because there were no Life Flight helicopters close enough.
In scuba diving training, we were taught to consider how long it would take to summon help from our location before undertaking risky activities.

On the cliff diving in general I don't understand why the other people didn't know that it was too shallow to dive headfirst there.
Since they jumped in, wouldn't they have hit the bottom fairly soon Or did Bryan go deeper in his swan dive than they did in their dives Or did he hit a shallower area
They had him suck on a wet sock when he was lying on the beach waiting for help, because if he vomited he could die.
Also, they were running low on water because it was the last day of the trip, Did they not have water purifiers or at least iodine tablets or something for emergencies
Compared to Arash's story sitelinkLittle Big Steps: A LifeChanging Injury and the Inspirational Journey to Overcome the Odds, the doctors were very quick to pronounce Bryan paralyzed, and there was almost no talk of recovering any function.
I can't even imagine the horror of having them say, we're going to curl your fingers so they will stay that way for the rest of your life, so if somebody puts a spoon in your hand you might be able to hold it.
After spending weeks lying in a rocking bed to help with bedsores with his head screwed into a traction device.

It is just hard to believe that Bryan skipped straight to acceptance of having to give up the independence of being able to use a toilet and feed himself, let alone all his active pursuits and his new career as a mechanic.
It's amazing to read about him playing pranks on the nurses, going on dates, twotiming his girlfriend, and getting engaged and married to his nurse in one year from his accident.
Maybe it's because he came from a large, tightknit family where the standard response to "how are you" is "Fabulous, marvelous, and wonderful!" The first time I read that, I thought it was sarcastic.
Surely he went through a grieving process at some point, particularly when he lost the use of his arms later His grandfather seemed to take the news harder than he did "Not my Bryan.
Not my Bryan. "
Also quite something was the thought that his mother was disappointed that she wouldn't be needed to take care of him when he was released from the hospital because he got married so soon after.
That hardly seems like a job that a person would be sad not to have, Maybe it also had to do with the tension with his new wife,
I liked their wedding planning philosophy, Gown: "I want it white with long sleeves, " Reception: "I like the color blue, " End of thinking about it,
It was heartbreaking to read about his very young son Matt tormenting him, running out the door, turning off his wheelchair and trapping him in the stairwell, squirting water in his face.
Of course when Matt got older, he got into fights defending his dad, but how many parents have to deal with a toddler who is physically more capable than they are Nedra even threatened to kick Matt out of the family at one point.

I can see how a person who has to control his wheelchair by breathing into a tube could complete a college degree, however slowly and laboriously, by having scribes, automatic pageturners, and voicerecognition software that required him to spell out every single letter using the International Radio Alphabet!!!!!!.
One imagines life would be boring without a goal, But the fact that he routinely got trapped in elevators because he lacked the strength to push the button, and that he had to wait to eat dinner untilpm when his wife came home from work, or that he could have a wheelchair accident and lie on the floor for hours until someone came home, or that once his wife had to call over a man she vaguely remembered meeting at their new church because she had dropped him in the bathtub and needed help lifting him again Wow.
I can't even comprehend the mental state required to go through that with patience and good humor, knowing his condition would not improve.
Good on him for getting the degree and persisting until he found a job that would support his family.

I notice that the book really glosses over him being in pain from the fragments from the burst fracture in his neck, and his frequent hospitalizations for urinary tract infections and so forth.
There's a lot more unpleasant things that come from being paralyzed than not being able to walk or hold objects.

Wow, Nedra had to do so much, All the physical care for two young children, plus her completely paralyzed husband, plus having a job, Mindboggling.
The story of his accident up to him being stable in the hospital would have been riveting no matter how it was told.
But overall the writing wasn't brilliant, What stuck out to

me as amateurish was the dialog which at some points felt reconstructed and forced, the irregular shifts in point of view, and the long strings of anecdotes that seemed unrelated even though they were very interesting.
His little sister ended up clinging to the car door that had popped open while he drove Where were the seat belts Guess not in thes.


I hope that opportunities and quality of life have improved for people with spinal cord injuries now I bet just the Internet helps a lot, but I'm sure that it is still terrible, and it gives me a lot of food for thought that somebody could live such a fulfilled life without being able to move his arms or legs after age.
I love to read inspirational true stories, This story is based on the author's father in law, The story is amazing. Some people give up on life when they are paralyzed, Bryan had an uphill battle but he never gave up, I feel like I can handle hardy things too after reading this book, Inspiring! Highly recommended, for reals, This read was a great pick me up, It flowed fantastically, and didn't stall once, The style of the novel was beautiful, The quotes chosen tied everything together in a perfect little package of motivation and inspiration, Well done! This is a hard one to do a review on, I mean how do you rate on someone telling about someone they love, I understand this because I did it too, I also had a father who spent most of my life and half his confined to a wheelchair,
I'll do my best, The first of this story drew me in like a fly to a light, I held me pretty well for a while, Then it started reading like a medical journal, I missed the emotion the beginning started with, I lost the connection I had from the beginning, I kept going because this man was so much like my own father, I appreciated the struggle and still living, Never giving up and making the most of what could be a horrible situation, Finally the end brought back for a moment the emotion from the beginning, Being medically minded from my experience I got it, however, from an entertainment point of view it lost emotion.
As if the emotion was shut off to get through to the end, Which again I get it's just not high on the entertainment level, It should have said and maybe I missed it, should have ed said nonfiction or based on a true story.
IF I COULD GIVE THISSTAR I WOULD!

If you are an emotional reader like I am then grab a box of tissues.
I have always said I love it when an author can pull me in and make me feel like I am walking in the story right along with the characters.
This one did just that, and so much more,

I don't know how many times I have asked my kids this questions "If your friends jumped off a cliff would you".
Never once did I consider "if your friends went cliff jumping would you", I loved cliff jumping when I was younger, Now as an adult / mother, I would never do it, Plus the older I get the wimpier I get, . . hehe.

Bryan is looking forward to going on a trip with the youth, This will be his last time to go because he is, He sets off on his adventure with his best friends, sister Becky, and much to his chagrin his parents as chaperone's, along with other youth.
youth, a word in my world LDS world meaning agesgroups, They are going on a white water rafting trip,

Bryan's father tell him that there will be some cliffs they will be able to jump off of when they are on the trip.
Bryan is so excited and shares the news with this friends, All of the boys are even more excited to go on this trip now,

Two days into their rafting trip they make camp and find the cliffs, Bryan's friends were enjoying themselves before Bryan was able to join, When he arrived he didn't want to "show" every one up, but he decided he must dive, Bryan takes a running jump and does the most beautiful swan dive and enters the water like butter, and his whole life changes.


Bryan realized when he hit the water that something was wrong, . The bottom was coming too fast, and then he hears a pop, He knows, right then that his life will never be the same,

Unable to move Bryan sits in the water holding is breath until someone finally is able to get to him and bring him to the surface.
They boys and leaders know right away something is wrong, Bryan's dad knows that Bryan will not survive a trip to the hospital on the rafts so he goes to the nearest ranger station.
Leaving Bryan and his mother on the shore to wait for help,hours they waited. I cannot even tell explain how hard it was to read about thosehours, yet also so loving to read.
A true showing of love and friendship was shown during those long hours,

Bryan, from the moment he was retrieved from the water did not complain even once, He responded when he saw his dad "That was the best swan dive ever", Who says that He knows he will probably be paralyzed but this kid, This kid. . is amazing. He had unwavering faith.

This book brought me to tears so many time, Not only because of the hardships Bryan faced, but because even when facing them, he went forward with perfect faith and determination.
I cried at the devotion his family, I cried at his determination, It was such a beautiful story,

Bryan faces a life in a wheel chair but during the healing process finds love, I love stories like this, I could go on and on, I really could. There is so much I want to say, but then I would ruin the book, Maybe not ruin but wouldn't allow you to feel your own "emotions" while reading, Spoilers do that to me,

My heart ached for Bryan, It cried for Bryan. It laughed for Bryan. This man. What can I say. Determined. Charismatic. Optimistic. Kind. Loving. Non judgemental. I think about the things Bryan had to go through and it reminds me of everything I have to be thankful for.
I have the use of my arms, and legs, I can do things for myself, I can play with my kids, I can read without help, I can do many things, So could Bryan. He was determined not to let his disability define him,

There are quotes before every chapter that just made my heart happy, I want to share a few:

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny, " C. S. Lewis

This next one is my favorite quote, It is from one of the sweetest ladies to ever walk the earth besides my mother,

"The only way to get through this life is to laugh your way through it, You either have to laugh or cry, I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache, " Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Bryan was one of the best examples of this, He is such a funny guy, A prankster. Even without the use of his legs, . . a prankster :.

Okay, I will stop, It was such a beautiful story, of trials, determination, love, hope, and unwavering faith, I was touch so deeply by this book, that even after I was done reading I thought about it all day.
Every time a "hard" moment would come to me during the day I thought of this book, and began to cry all over again.
I have nothing to complain about, My life is a wonderful life, and this book helped me look at things a little different, A little brighter. A little more appreciative. A little more loved. Seriously. Such a beautiful story.

Source: I was given this book as part of a blog tour in return for an honest review.
I was not compensated in anyway for this review, These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book, .