Book Review: Still Lolo

Still Lolo by Lauren Scruggs and the Scruggs family with Marcus Brotherton

Book Description (From the back cover):

For fashion journalist Lauren ("LoLo") Scruggs, a short flight to look at Christmas lights turned into a nightmare when she was struck by the plane's spinning propeller blades.

As Lauren was rushed to the hospital, fighting for her life, the world watched in shock and horror.  Several major surgeries and thousands of prayers later, Lauren was still alive.  But she had suffered brain trauma and lost her left hand and left eye.  Some thought that this would be the end of everything for her, a beautiful young woman working in an industry focused completely on appearance.

They were wrong.

In Still LoLo, Lauren reveals what really happened that night, how she survived against all odds, and what her life is like today.  She is unflinchingly honest in the face of difficult questions:  What kind of future will I have?  Will anyone be able to love me now?  Where is God in all this pain?  Through her story, Lauren calls us all to live a life without fear and to overcome whatever challenges threaten to limit us.

Containing never-before-published photos and personal stories from Lauren and her family, Still LoLo is a compelling and fiercely beautiful account of faith, determination, and staying true to who you are - no matter what.

My Thoughts:

This book was amazing!  I'm not a big non-fiction fan so for me to be captivated by this book is saying something.  The story of what Lauren endured is inspiring in and of itself, but the rest of the story - the story of her life before and after the accident - is just as incredible.  Her parents divorced when she was a toddler because of her mother's infidelity.  Seven years later, when she and her twin sister were 11, her parents got remarried...to each other.  To me that is such an amazing story of redemption and reconciliation in a marriage.

The reliance on God that was started in her parents during their divorced years was later taught to both Lauren and her sister, Brittany.  The night of the accident, 100 people were at that hospital petitioning God and relying on him for Lauren's life.  They relied on God and he answered.

Reliance on God is one of the key elements in this book but even with that, the Scruggs family doesn't sugarcoat Lauren's pain or recovery.  The pain of recovery and the struggles with depression and anger are written in a very raw voice by Lauren.  I felt her honesty in her writing and I grieved with her over the loss of her eye and her hand.  I empathized with her mother as she wished she could take her daughter's place and hurt for her.  I really felt like I knew this family after reading this book.

One of the best features of Still LoLo is that the entire Scruggs family came together to write it.  Different chapters are written by different members of Lauren's family - Lauren, her father, her mother and her sister.  It gives great perspective on what each of them were feeling during the accident and how each had different emotions and reactions.

Since I, too, am struggling to live with a body that's broken and painful, Lauren's recovery and optimism are very encouraging to me.

I highly recommend this book!  In fact, you can get started on it right now by reading the first chapter here.

5 out of 5 stars

I was provided with a complementary copy of this book for review from Tyndale House Publishers.  All opinions are my own.