Book Review: Bone by Bone

If you’ve been following me and my book reviews for a long time then you probably know I don’t read a lot of memoirs or nonfiction. I do occasionally, but they’re not what I gravitate towards normally. I’ve said it before, but if I like a memoir then I must have been really hooked on it since they’re not my go-to.

Bone by Bone: A Memoir of Trauma and Healing by Geralyn S. Ritter was so good. It was captivating, emotional, inspirational, and I honestly was in awe of how Geralyn survived through all she went through.

Geralyn is a survivor from the tragic Amtrak 188 derailment in 2015. You may remember this horrific accident from the news back then. I remember seeing it on the news, but I really didn’t remember much about it.

Geralyn was traveling home to NJ that evening from Philadelphia after a work event when the train derailed. She was in the first car which was completed crushed and smashed that everyone believed it was a miracle she had lived. Her injuries were catastrophic and I have no idea how she survived it – breaking many of her bones including her pelvis and having her organs all pushed up and rearranged and suffering from major blood loss. Geralyn would be in critical condition and endure dozens of surgeries even years after the accident. By 2017 she was back to working part time and traveling, though life would never be the same and she would carry that accident with her forever.

Her story had me hooked and it was so crazy and emotional to read about everything she endured, the pain she went through, and the frustrations she felt. Frustrations over the pace of her recovery and setbacks, her pain, the bureaucracy and red tape of the healthcare system and more. It was inspiring to read about how she got through it all. I really don’t think I could have!

I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a memoir about a survivor from the Amtrack accident and to read about Geralyn’s trauma and healing.