Life, In Spite of Me

Empty.  Hurting. Broken.  Searching.

All those words describe how Kristen felt inside. Her home-life was slowly crumbling apart; she had been raped, and she was devastated by the recent suicide of her friend; depression weighed heavy on her mind; her grades were plummeting; the party scene was sucking her in; and God seemed nowhere in sight.

In “Life, In Spite of Me,”  Kirsten Jane Anderson tells her story how she lay down on cold, icy train tracks just days after the New Year and tried to end her life. Thirty-three freight-train cars ran over her legs at fifty-five miles per hour before it came to a screeching halt. Expecting her life to be over, she looked down and saw her legs laying several feet away from her body – and she realized her worst nightmare had come true. She was alive… her suicide attempt was a failure.

The days, weeks, and months that followed were long and hard as she fought to live.

She still struggled with depression; still thought she had no reason to live; and was constantly on medications and in-and-out of counselor and therapist appointments.

Then Kirsten met someone who forever and completely changed her life completely – Jesus Christ.

Years later now, she has graduated from Bible College, has her own ministry, her family has come to Christ, and she is free of depression medication.

Empty, Hurting, Broken, and Searching are no longer the words you think of when you look at her vibrant face, and see the smile that seems to tell you that God is good. 

She continues to move forward, and is sharing the love of Jesus with thousands of others. She has a ministry, Reaching You Ministries, and she now reaches out to other teens that are broken and hurting. She shares her testimony, and how Jesus helped her through, to show others that there is someone who cares, and there is hope.   

I was so blessed after reading this book! To see this young woman, not much older than I am, that is so in love with Jesus and using her testimony to reach out to those around her. Kristen has been a great encouragement to me. 

I can't wait to buy this book for my own! (I read it during my half hour lunch break at our bookstore) and so now I need to buy my own copy!

I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this book! It is amazing, and it is an extremely easy read too. I was hooked from the first page, and was not released until the end!

Sierra