Joni [Paperback]

Joni Eareckson Tada (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

With more than three million copies in print in over forty languages in the twenty years since its first publication, this award-winning story of Joni Eareckson Tada, a young woman who triumphed over devastating odds, continues to touch lives.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A story that has encouraged and inspired millions of readers, now available in a special softcover anniversary edition.

From the Author

Joni Eareckson Tada is an accomplished artist, speaker, and founder of her own ministry to the disabled, Joni and Friends. Her many books include the best-selling Heaven, The Life and Death Dilemma, and Diamonds in the Dust. She lives with her husband in Calabasas, California

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310215293
• ISBN-13: 978-0310215295
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,847,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book you'll never put down - ever, June 15, 2006

By 

Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joni: An Unforgettable Story (Paperback)

This is one of those few stories that never leave you. Even after you have read the book, closed it and put it on the shelf, the story remains and you can't get it out of your head. A bright, energetic, full-of-life girl goes diving into the shallow water - an act that will forever change her life and ultimately change the lives of millions of others.

Suddenly, this athletic, independent young girl is trapped in a body that will not move. Paralyzed from the shoulders down, she finds herself no longer independent, but fully dependent on the care of others for the simplest of tasks. Things we take for granted like wiping away tears, blowing your own nose or brushing your hair - now on someone else's time table, not your own.

Understandably, this turn of events shakes her faith as she shakes her mental fists at God for dashing all her hopes and dreams for the future. Failed romances, rocky friendships, family heartaches - Joni holds nothing back in this insightful view into her world.

Through her emotional and spiritual failings, the author shares her growth and understanding of God's plan for her life and the lives of others. Using her mouth to draw and paint, the author became an established artist long before people realized that the artist whose work they were admiring was completely paralyzed and unable to use her hands. This revelation thrust her into celebrity where she has been able to make more of an impact on the lives of others than she would have ever been able to have accomplished prior to her injury.

Through her charity, Joni & Friends, the author has provided for wheelchairs for the disabled around the world and opened the doors of opportunity to wheelchair bound people everywhere.

I've seen the author on Larry King a few times and always wondered, "how does that woman keep smiling and keep such an upbeat attitude?" It is hard to imagine a worse fate than what she has endured since her accident, yet after reading her personal account of her life since that fateful summer in 1967, the reader understands exactly why she smiles and truly has joy in her life. I picked up this book thinking it would be 'interesting' and nothing more - I was delightfully surprised to find this to be a page-turner I could not put down. Even though I've finished reading this autobiography, I doubt I will ever truly put this book down. This is a story that sticks with you long after you've closed the back cover.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT AN AMAZING WOMAN!, May 3, 2004

By 

Julie-Anne Dentici "Jewels" (Mountain Brook, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joni: An Unforgettable Story (Paperback)

I WAS FIRST INTRODUCED TO THIS BOOK AS A YOUNG CHILD. JONI HAS TRULY BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO ME. I AM NOW A 22 YEAR OLD WOMAN WHO HAS LIVED WITH CEREBRAL PALSY SINCE BIRTH. LIKE JONI, I TOO AM A BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN AND I TRULY CANNOT IMAGINE (MY) LIFE WITHOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN IT. IN THIS MEMOIR, ONE TRULY SEES THE STRUGGLES, THE HEARTBREAKS, AND THE JOYS AND TRIUMPHS THAT THE LORD BRINGS THIS YOUNG LADY THROUGH. THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE-IN A CHAIR OR NOT, AND I TOO CAN SAY THAT I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE IN A CHAIR WITH THE LORD, THAN ON MY FEET WITHOUT HIM.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an honest confession, October 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Joni: An Unforgettable Story (Paperback)

I read this book a few months a go. I haven't read many of christian writer's story about their lives, but some that i have read never really touched me the way Joni did. I was impressed and blessed from her honesty in pouring out her thoughts and feelings, even the bad ones. It did not discourage me, but instead it made me realise that we need to deal with ourselves to be able to see the real us and to be able to see what God wants to do in our lives.