I read The Bear's Embrace in one day, finding it absolutely impossible to put down. I admire Patricia and her husband very much in the way they handled their tremendous challenges after the bear attack. The book has several moments that touch your emotions. For me, the most memorable scene was when Patricia and her little daughter Ellen are talking in bed one day, years after the attack. Beautiful writing from a strong, beautiful spirit.

"The Bear's Embrace" is written by a woman who was hiking with her husband when they were attacked by a bear. Though both seriously wounded, they made it out alive and began the long road back to recovery. Both have facial scarring, but hers are much more severe, causing years of pain and permanent disfigurement.

Ironically, the problem one reviewer had with: "hoping for some kind of information about how people actually cope with such devastating horror in their lives, but there was nothing here, just page after page of seemingly pointless suffering without redemption or relief" is exactly how living with PTSD is like. It's extremely difficult to cope with, which is why it can break up families/friendships. As someone who has PTSD, I was able to empathize with almost everything with the author was talking about.

The writing can be emotionally raw and the constant emotional turmoil Ms.Van Tighem goes through is captured well. Though she's able to pull herself up for small periods, at one point starting a support group for those having facial disfigurements, most of the book is about her trying to cope with her disfigurement and depression. Only at the end is she able to start climbing out of the pit she is in, when she was finally diagnosed with PTSD after 20 years.

If you'd like to get a glimpse of how badly PTSD can affect someone, read this book. It does an excellent job of showing the difficulties a PTSD victim has in reintegrating themselves back into everyday life as well as the daily struggles just to live one day at a time.

With heartrending honesty, Patricia Van Tighem invites the reader into her nightmare of physical and emotional disabilities and the struggle to put her life back together after the brutal attack she experienced. Having experienced PTSD after the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, I could relate to her stress and confusion. Factor in her unending pain, the loss of her appearance, people's stares, and the callous, judgmental treatment she received at a hospital, and you have a woman who had overwhelming issues to deal with.

I have nothing but praise for Patricia's willingness to candidly share her struggle with others. I hope she continues to write.