Bittersweet Chances: A Personal Journey of Living and Learning in the Face of Illness [Paperback]

Dana Selenke Broehl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2004

Chronic illness has the ability to rob life of its joy and meaning. The social, psychological, and emotional challenges of a chronic illness can destroy lives and leave empty human shells in its wake. But just as chronic illness is a thief, it is also a giver. It has the ability to transform lives by providing countless opportunities for knowledge, personal growth, and perspective. Chronic illness challenges us to accept its intrusively difficult nature and grow through the difficulty. Through a series of poignant essays and chronicled journal entries, Bittersweet Chances recounts Doug and Dana Broehl’s journey of growth through the darkness of cystic fibrosis and the renewed hope of a double lung transplant.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dana Selenke Broehl was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 in Spanish Secondary Education and completed a Master of Arts in Education in 2000. She has been a high school teacher at Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin for the past fourteen years. She and her husband, Doug, currently reside in Delafield, Wisconsin with Willy the cat and the new lung "twins."

Product Details

• Paperback: 190 pages
• Publisher: PublishAmerica (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413713246
• ISBN-13: 978-1413713244
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,462,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Skateboarding

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Title Says It All, September 10, 2004

By 

Samuel W. Feinstein "Sam Feinstein" (Bridgeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bittersweet Chances: A Personal Journey of Living and Learning in the Face of Illness (Paperback)

Dana is a gifted writer who has told the story of how her life was transformed by love in a most glorious way. She shares the deepest secrets about meeting Doug and then goes on to tell how she had to learn to share him with a third party - a chronic disease that would surely kill him. Was it worth working to build the relationship? Could Dana and Doug beat the odds, which were stacked against them on so many different fronts? There is so much to be learned from their experience and Dana (a teacher by profession) educates the reader about accepting the truth and overcoming obstacles previously unimaginable. There is a spiritual side, but it does not dominate her writing. There is a humorous side, but it does not detract from the seriousness of the story. This is probably the most educational, amusing and uplifting book I have read in the past year.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopeful, June 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Bittersweet Chances: A Personal Journey of Living and Learning in the Face of Illness (Paperback)

My son has CF, and I know that he will someday need a transplant.
I found this book to be a hopeful and honest portryal of life with a chronic illness. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who feels overwhelmed or burdened by life and illness.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncovering The Meaning of Life, May 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Bittersweet Chances: A Personal Journey of Living and Learning in the Face of Illness (Paperback)

This book is an open and honest portrayal of one couple's journey through a chronic illness. The book is full of hilarious and heart wrenching stories, but the message is hope. This brave young couple has gone through the storms of life, but they have weathered them in such a way that they have learned to focus not on the storms, but on the rainbows that inevitabley follow. This is a spectacular book that should be read by the healthy and the chronically ill.