Trauma changes a person and even though we can try to push the memories to the back of our minds, the body remembers. Bone by Bone is an illuminating memoir about trauma and stress and the toll it takes on our lives and how we can overcome it. Highly recommend.

A beautiful and moving memoir about trauma and loss telling the story of surviving the Amtrak train accident outside of Philadelphia.

At first you’d think this wasn’t real after reading a little into the book but the accident really did happen. It’s a miracle the author survived after seeing photos of the train car she was riding in. God was protecting her that day. The book tells about her many surgeries and rehab along with the pain management and kicking the pain meds. It’s awesome she’s alive today and not paralyzed or in a wheelchair or using crutches.
It’s just sad and makes you angry that it took so many accidents and people getting seriously hurt or killed before action was finally taken. This book also makes you realize that everything can change in a blink of an eye.

Geralyn Ritter tells the story of her survival of Amtrak's 2015 derailment in Philadelphia with honesty, brave vulnerability and genuine heart. She doesn't ever hint at feeling sorry for herself despite the extensive injuries she sustained. The writing is smooth and fluid. We see accidents often in the news, but aren't able to experience a first hand account of the months and years it takes to recover; this story details what it takes in a way that inspires hope and faith. This book could be useful both as a guide to recovery or create empathy for those on the sidelines. She does a great job balancing the specifics of her story with the challenges and bureaucracy of being a patient. This story is rich with research about the medical system and the challenges that patients and their caregivers face. Geralyn Ritter's journey to wellness is as much of a miracle as her initial survival.

This memoir is one I've already recommended to my friends. It reads like a fictional story and the fact that the events actually occurred made it more emotional for me. There were moments of joy, tears, and rage. I couldn't help but reflect on how challenging it must have been for Ritter to write this, on the bravery it must have taken for her to share her sad past with readers, and on the possibility that writing about her experiences served as a form of treatment for her.

For me, Ritter's writing was riveting because she didn't hold back on describing the awful things that happened during the event. For the benefit of anyone who read this, it is important to remember that reading these events with the true facts helps us to understand what happened, how we can avoid a similar event from occurring in the future and how we can show compassion to victims of such events after reading their direct memoir.

I could relate to this true train crash event from an outsiders point of view. My best friend went through a traumatic car accident when we were in our teens, and I helped her through some therapies and hurdles. I found it easy to relate to Jonathon, Ritters husband, and his point of view and often found it hard to read Ritters sons, Brad and Austin, emotions and experience.

Overall, the writing is clear, understandable, and made me feel what the author was feeling, and over come. I highly recommend this memoir that flows like a well-written novel and brought hope to me with the strength Ritter found within herself to fight for her own life and for her family.

The author was a passenger on the Amtrak train that crashed outside of Philly in 2015. She was by far the worst injured survivor. Her abdominal organs were forced into her chest cavity, her ribs were shattered (her surgeon said "annihilated"), her pelvis was broken in half with an open penetrating wound - any one of multiple injuries should have killed her, but she survived. She mentions a rating scale that was used to determine traumatic injury severity, with 25 being severe; she was a 57. This was really good. It is hard to imagine how scary it was for her family in the hours after learning of the crash, her husband driving to different crisis meeting points and hospitals, her teenage son calling hospitals in a panic. She also described her trauma recovery and dealing with opioid dependence and PTSD and so on. I really liked this. 4 stars

The true story about a woman that survived the Amtrak crash in 2008. Her horrific injuries. Her wonderful family and friends and how they rallied around her.
If this were a Fiction story, I'd say, "C'mon, there is just NO WAY." but this is a real story.
If you think you are having a bad day, I guarantee you this will put things in perspective.
The writing is conversational and pulls you in. You won't be able to put it down.
There is a bit of faith woven in the book, but not so much that a person of non-faith would be "put off" by it.
A true testament to the power of the body, of doctors (and I am NOT a fan of the commercialized medical community these days) and nurses, and medicine.
A testament to the power of family and friends. And a testament to the power of the mind/body connection.
Though Mrs. Ritter still rides trains, I'll have to admit, I'm now afraid to!
10/10.