Broken Beauty - by Sarah B Smith (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In the world of Early-onset Alzheimer's, here is a book all about life, love, and hope.
​Broken Beauty is the story of Sarah Smith's mother--known as "Beauty" to her family--and her family's journey through the devastating world of Early-onset Alzheimer's. Smith was a young mother in her thirties when her own mother's illness struck, so the family's shock and pain at the disease's manifestations is nearly unbearable. Not only is Beauty still young and fit; she is also Sarah's best friend. This powerful and personal story about a daughter facing the unthinkable and the love she found to carry her through will touch the hearts of everyone who reads it.

Sarah Bearden Smith is a housewife, mother of three, and a woman of deep faith, who has lived in Texas all her life. Sarah was born and raised in the Houston area, and remained there until her departure for the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a speech communications major, varsity cheerleader, and a member of Tri Delta sorority. After her marriage to Thad Smith in 2002, the couple moved to Dallas, Texas. During their years in Dallas, Sarah and her husband have served on various boards and committees, including the Greer Garson Gala, Presbyterian Hospital Healthcare Foundation, East-West Ministries, AWARE Dallas, and Providence Christian School of Texas. They actively serve with their children in assisted living and memory care facilities and support organizations such as Council for Life, Alzheimer's Association, Women's Alzheimer's Movement, and Community Bible Study. Sarah and her family are members of Watermark Community Church.

Review Quotes

"So many of us have been touched by the ripple effect of a loved one being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Broken Beauty is a story of fighting for a life given a terminal diagnosis, living one day and moment at a time, and proof that with God, anything is possible. Sarah's journey, outlined in these pages, brings hope and light to what, from a distance, might seem hopeless and dark. Love always wins."
--Michael W. Smith, Singer/Songwriter

"Broken Beauty provides a rare, authentic look into the challenges and triumphs of a family walking the journey with Alzheimer's disease. The story speaks to the need for a community of support, compassionate and competent professionals, and eyes that continue to see and embrace beauty in the midst of a challenging diagnosis."
--Audette Rackley, MS/CCC-SLP, Head of Special Programs at The University of Texas at Dallas, Center for BrainHealth, and author of I Can Still Laugh: Stories of Inspiration and Hope from People Living with Alzheimer's

"A beautifully written book by Sarah Smith. Having lost my mom to Alzheimer's many years ago, it was as if I were living my own journey all over again. It touched all the same emotions that I'm sure every son or daughter has gone through with a loved one. A step-by-step story of a tragic disease and how the good Lord carried this family through it."
--Lee Majors, film and television actor of The Big Valley, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Fall Guy

"Heartfelt, heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful, Broken Beauty is the kind of book you buy for friends and then a week later, get together and talk about over a cappuccino."
--Ron Hall, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Same Kind of Different as Me, and producer and writer of the Paramount film of the same name

"In a culture where our value is measured by our looks, our income, and our talent, we need reminders of the beauty of sacrificial love and the truth of the inherent worth every human has because they are made in God's image. Broken Beauty is a reminder that is beautifully written and full of grace and truth."
--John Stonestreet, President, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview

"There are few subjects that compel us to look into the broken heart of human existence as this one does. But this marvelous book shows that it is precisely because of this that our deepest need for God--and His willingness to meet that need--can also be gloriously revealed, if we are willing."
--Eric Metaxas, New York Times best-selling author of Bonhoeffer and Miracles, and nationally syndicated radio host

About the Author

Sarah Bearden Smith is a housewife, mother of three, and a woman of deep faith, who has lived in Texas all her life. She was born and raised in the Houston area until her departure for the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a speech communications major and varsity cheerleader. After graduation, she remained in Austin, working in the software and high-tech industry. She and her husband and children live in Dallas, Texas, where they actively serve in assisted living and memory care facilities and support organizations such as Council for Life, Alzheimer's Association, the Women's Alzheimer's Movement, and Community Bible Study. Sarah and her family are members of Watermark Community Church.