Customer Reviews

Why I Jumped: My True Story of Postpartum Depression, Dramatic Rescue & Return to Hope

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is an amazing story. Thank God, Tina Zahn lived to tell it. In this well-written and easy-to-read account of a troubled life that eventually leads to an attempted suicide, we learn the true story behind the sensational headlines/video footage of a young woman's leap from Wisconsin's tallest bridge. Battling severe postpartum depression after the birth of her second child, coupled with unresolved traumas of sexual abuse by her stepfather that began at the tender age of five, we indeed learn why Tina Zahn jumped.

Remarkably, all the elements were in place to rescue her. The book begins with the dramatic call to 9-1-1 by her husband and the ensuing high-speed police chase, along with the swift actions of the officer who reached out and grabbed her wrist, saving her from a 200-foot plunge and certain death. She then goes back in time and tells the wrenching account of her stepfather's abuses (she didn't discover he wasn't her biological father until many years later) and her mother's neglect. One can't help but applaud Zahn's bravery for sharing her story and for including useful reference material at the end to help us all recognize the signs of sexual abuse and depression, and where to go for help.

This is a spiritual journey and I recommend it not only for readers learning to diagnose signs of depression (postpartum and otherwise), but also to attain a greater understanding of these illnesses and how to cope with loved ones who may be suffering. Readable in an afternoon.

From the author of "A Line Between Friends," McKenna Publishing Group.

I have read literally thousands of books in my lifetime, but I have never read a book quite like this. First, I am from Wisconsin and have actually been to many of the places that Tina mentions in her story. Second, I too have struggled for many years with serious depression. I've never actually attempted suicide, but I came very close to it one night 10 years ago. It is only by the grace of God that I didn't attempt suicide that night. I truly believe that God intervened in my life that night. Even though I didn't yet know Christ as my Savior. I have struggled with serious depression off and on for the past 15 years. There have been five or six periods in my life where I have felt seriously depressed for months at a time. There is definitely a stigma in the church when it comes to depression. A lot of people simply don't know how to handle it. I could relate to so many of Tina's struggles. Tina's story is also my story. I am so thankful that Tina had the courage and strength to share such a deeply personal struggle with the world. I believe that this book will give hope to those of us who struggle with depression. But I believe it will also help those who have never had a problem with depression to be more compassionate and understanding. Struggling with serious depression can make you feel so alone and like there is no one who really understands. But this book showed me that I am not alone in my struggles and that even if no one else does, God understands and cares. I cried numerous times as I read this book. This book has helped me believe that there is hope and help is available. I do not have to suffer alone. Reading Tina's story also makes me want to begin counseling in order to deal with my depression and other issues openly and honestly.

I thank God for sparing Tina's life and motivating her to share her story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to people who struggle with depression. I also recommend this book to friends and family of people who are depressed. I thank God for motivating me to buy this book. This is one book I know I will never forget.

Good book if you want to try and understand what would make someone want to do this like I did. The brain works in mysterious ways...

If you've ever been suicidally depressed like Tina, which I have, then this book may well change your whole life! The power of Tina's story is in the simplicity of her words, and the courage of her traumatized soul. I found myself crying from time to time while reading this book because it touched so many chords in my own broken heart. The fact that God used a patrolman to save her life is just one part of this incredibly moving and unforgettable story. I had never heard of Tina Zahn until I read this book, and now I can't stop telling people, especially those who are struggling with depression and trauma issues to read this book! You won't regret reading it either, I assure you it will speak to your heart in a graphic but tender way.

First, I want to stress that with my review, I don't intend to demean the horrible things this woman suffered, and endured, and is overcoming. I have no idea what it is like to walk in her shoes. However, I read this book in about two hours and for someone who is trying to understand what makes something like this happen, and having never been a victim of sexual abuse, which seemed to be the very root of the problem, I felt like she just vaguely skimmed over the issues leading up to that fateful event on the Tower Drive Bridge. I found it difficult to understand the depth of her depression, and why she felt she had no other options. But again, that does not mean I lack compassion. My point is that the book is not a very long one, and it begins when she was a child and ends at the point she wrote it, some time after her attempted jump. For instance, she married Dan and I wondered from the moment they married if he was aware of what had happened to her, if they had talked about it, but it wasn't mentioned until they'd been married several years, and then just very briefly. Another thing I couldn't quite grasp is why she continued to have a relationship with her stepfather up until the point her mother divorced him, and what that relationship was like and how it affected her. It seemed like a lot of her issues were mentioned just very briefly, so it was difficult to understand what was going on inside her head. I guess I would have liked to see more detail, maybe to have had the book slow down a bit and delve a little deeper. I gave it a 5 star, however, just because she was here to write it, and that it sounds like she's going to be okay.

Reading this book more than a year after my last big battle with PPD was an incredible experience. The book is a tragic retelling of the author's sexually abusive childhood, her misdirected decisions in her early 20s, and finally her battle with severe postpartum depression. She describes very real feelings that anyone who has been through one or more of these life experiences could relate to. The book is also about her healing from these events and how she found hope through the people closest to her and from her faith in God. She describes the importance of prayer in both her rescue and her healing from the deep pain she had suffered for so long.

I'm not sure how this book would have helped me when I was at my deepest point of postpartum depression. At that point I may not have taken interest in learning so much about her past. I may have just skipped forward to the story of her postpartum depression. Either way, I think any woman who has experienced PPD should read this book even if you think you have already gotten past the experience and emotions.

My first memory is of watching someone get shot with a machine gun. That was before things got really tough. After that my mom married someone who spent years abusing myself and several siblings. For anyone who has ever been abused as a child - this book will be a healing place. Tina addresses how every trauma we face as adults takes us back to the feeling of helplessness we struggled with, as children. And it wasn't just a feeling, there was no one to help us.

Tina also does a very good job of explaining the wishfullness of wanting your mom to 'rescue' you and yet realizing (one day when you are grown) that your mom was hanging on by her fingernails wondering how she would support 3 children without a 'man in the house'. Tima also does a wonderful job of explaining how 'abusers' can go to Church and read the Bible and make everyone around them think they are the 'nicest' people.

I have never experienced depression like Tina's - still this book was a healing place for me. I highly recommend it. It's encouraged me to one day write the story of my pain as well - in hopes that it could be someone elses's gain.

I finished this book in one day. I loved it. I found it interesting to hear her story because I suffered from the same thing. I would highly recommend this book.

Tina Zahn tried to jump off a bridge 200 feet over the Fox River in Green Bay Wisconsin - but was saved by a trooper who caught her by the wrist as she went over. The whole incident was filmed by the police car's videocam and the event played on TV both locally and nationally. Here, for the first time, Zahn speaks out about why she jumped, and how she eventually recovered from the severe postpartum depression which nearly sent her over the edge. Both health libraries and general-interest lending collections will find WHY I JUMPED: MY TRUE STORY OF POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION, DRAMATIC RESCUE AND RETURN TO HOPE inspirational and riveting.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

In 2004, after Tina gave birth to her second child, she drove to Tower Drive Bridge in Wisconsin and jumped off - and survived. While her story focuses on her past leading up to her struggle with postpartum depression, Tina's point about being the person she needed to be - open and honest, no masks, no secrets - really spoke to me. In addition to her story, I also appreciated the list of resources provided in the back of the book and the q/a section regarding postpartum depression.

I would recommend this book to anyone. For those who struggle with depression, I urge you to read this book. And if you have been a victim of sexual or any other type of abuse, please read Tina's story - and speak out.