Broken Beauty
Piecing Together Lives Shattered by Early-Onset Alzheimer's
by Sarah B. Smith
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Pub Date Jan 15 2019 | Archive Date Apr 29 2021
Greenleaf Book Group | Greenleaf Book Group Press
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Description
In the world of Early-onset Alzheimer’s, here is a book all about life, love, and hope.
Broken Beauty is the story of Sarah Smith’s mother—known as “Beauty” to her family—and her family’s journey through the devastating world of Early-onset Alzheimer’s. Smith was a young mother in her thirties when her own mother’s illness struck, so the family’s shock and pain at the disease’s manifestations is nearly unbearable. Not only is Beauty still young and fit; she is also Sarah’s best friend. This powerful and personal story about a daughter facing the unthinkable and the love she found to carry her through will touch the hearts of everyone who reads it.
Sarah Bearden Smith is a housewife, mother of three, and a woman of deep faith, who has lived in Texas all her life. Sarah was born and raised in the Houston area, and remained there until her departure for the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a speech communications major, varsity cheerleader, and a member of Tri Delta sorority. After her marriage to Thad Smith in 2002, the couple moved to Dallas, Texas. During their years in Dallas, Sarah and her husband have served on various boards and committees, including the Greer Garson Gala, Presbyterian Hospital Healthcare Foundation, East-West Ministries, AWARE Dallas, and Providence Christian School of Texas. They actively serve with their children in assisted living and memory care facilities and support organizations such as Council for Life, Alzheimer’s Association, Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and Community Bible Study. Sarah and her family are members of Watermark Community Church.
Advance Praise
“So many of us have been touched by the ripple effect of a loved one being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Broken Beauty is a story of fighting for a life given a terminal diagnosis, living one day and moment at a time, and proof that with God, anything is possible. Sarah’s journey, outlined in these pages, brings hope and light to what, from a distance, might seem hopeless and dark. Love always wins.”
—Michael W. Smith, Singer/Songwriter
“There are few subjects that compel us to look into the broken heart of human existence as this one does. But this marvelous book shows that it is precisely because of this that our deepest need for God—and His willingness to meet that need—can also be gloriously revealed, if we are willing.”
—Eric Metaxas, New York Times best-selling author of Bonhoeffer and Miracles, and nationally syndicated radio host
“A beautifully written book by Sarah Smith. Having lost my mom to Alzheimer’s many years ago, it was as if I were living my own journey all over again. It touched all the same emotions that I’m sure every son or daughter has gone through with a loved one. A step-by-step story of a tragic disease and how the good Lord carried this family through it.”
—Lee Majors, film and television actor of The Big Valley, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Fall Guy
“In a culture where our value is measured by our looks, our income, and our talent, we need reminders of the beauty of sacrificial love and the truth of the inherent worth every human has because they are made in God’s image. Broken Beauty is a reminder that is beautifully written and full of grace and truth.”
—John Stonestreet, President, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview
“Broken Beauty provides a rare, authentic look into the challenges and triumphs of a family walking the journey with Alzheimer’s disease. The story speaks to the need for a community of support, compassionate and competent professionals, and eyes that continue to see and embrace beauty in the midst of a challenging diagnosis."
—Audette Rackley, MS/CCC-SLP, Head of Special Programs at The University of Texas at Dallas, Center for BrainHealth, and author of I Can Still Laugh: Stories of Inspiration and Hope from People Living with Alzheimer’s
“Heartfelt, heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful, Broken Beauty is the kind of book you buy for friends and then a week later, get together and talk about over a cappuccino.”
—Ron Hall, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Same Kind of Different as Me, and producer and writer of the Paramount film of the same name
Marketing Plan
National trade marketing and sales campaign
Advance distribution of digital ARC to reviewers, bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers, and media via NetGalley
Online marketing campaign, including targeted advertising via Publishers Weekly and Ingram and giveaways via Goodreads
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781626345973 |
| PRICE | $16.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 336 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Jeanette S, Reviewer
I was a full-time carer for my later mother, who suffered from the wicked disease 'Alzheimer's', so when i spotted this book on Netgalley, i felt that it was a book that i could relate to.
Just like Sarah's mother 'Beauty' my mother also had the onset of Alzheimer's too early in life (early 60's). There were so many parts of this book that i could relate to and could feel the pain and heartache that Sarah went through. It brought back my own memories and just like 'Beauty' it brought back the days my mother got herself lost when taking herself out. The difference with Sarah and her family and my own, is that we do not believe in God and the only help we turned to, was a private carer who came to the house a few hours a week so i could go shopping etc. It also helped that i was once a carer in a home for those with Alzheimer's and other forms of Dementia for several years. The care home that Sarah had placed her mother in sounded a wonderful home. I could never place my mother in a home for various reasons.
I do highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what life is like from the early stages of Alzheimer's as well as anyone who is caring or has cared for a loved one with Alzheimer's.
My thanks to Netgalley, Sarah and the Publishers for my advanced copy of 'Broken Beauty'. This is my honest review, which i have freely given.
Nancy F, Educator
While this is not an easy book to read, it is a very important book to read. It puts names and faces and lives on to the tragedy of Alzheimer’s. Not being overly religious, I was a little put off by the sheer number of Bible references in the book. As I progressed through the story, I came to realize that not only were they important, they were integral to it. By the end, I didn’t enen notice them. This is one book that I will read again and again. I know that will grieve with Sarah when Beauty leaves us . Her mom became mine and I am honored she shared Beauty with me.
Sheila J, Reviewer
wow! I have lived this book several times in the recent past! My mother, my father in law, a beloved aunt, and several other family members diagnosed with AD. although not full-time care giver to my loved ones (my siblings and I shared responsibilites, each of us taking a specific job in the process), the struggke is real. This book lays it all out there. Its a horrible affliction. I have laid out a olan for my care should my family be faced with this. This is an important book. whether your journey is just starting or has ended. Thank you M Smith for sharing your story, it will make a difference
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