Reviews 1
From Pain to Peace is a testimonial of God’s healing power through prayer. The author, Pat Bluth, tells the anguished story of her daughter’s tragic death at age 17 and how she found inner peace and forgiveness for her daughter’s killer through God’s grace.
The author holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling. She found that the natural sciences alone could not ease the pain and anger that she felt. She trusted in the words of Jesus: “Humanly it is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt 19, 26).
The book deserves to be widely read. It gives hope to all who grieve or are in pain. But it is a book for everyone to read and opens up the possibility of spiritual growth for all of us. It tells of the triumph of the human spirit through God’s infinite love.
Thank you, Pat, for sharing your story with us.
Father Cornelius Kelleher
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
Hinckley, MN
≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠
This wonderful book is a testament to the power of forgiveness and how we will never know God’s peace until we learn the process of forgiveness. –Father Greg Esty
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church
St. Paul Park, MN
≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠
“…Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us…”
In her book From Pain to Peace, Pat Bluth recounts a story that I, as a parish priest, have encountered far too many times, a story that involves an anguish that I can only imagine. Throughout her book, Pat allows us to walk with her through her own spiritual struggle to forgive the drunk driver whose actions caused the death of her daughter, Tammy. From Pain to Peace is, at its very core, is a fight to live out that ‘as’ in the Lord’s Prayer. Her own struggle to forgive is not uncommon.
Pat signed my copy of her book with the note “Healing follows forgiveness.” From Pain to Peace offers us a piece of very unconventional wisdom: that we don’t truly heal until after we’ve forgiven. In my own pastoral experience, this is among the more valuable insights we can gain. So often, we don’t feel ready to forgive until some form of healing takes place. Pat reminds us that the opposite is true.
Having sought God in the direst circumstances, and found the healing that He wanted for her through a tremendous struggle, Pat uses her book to share that insight with us and to walk with those who face similar difficulty. I think that for anyone who feels slighted by God, or who feels he/she has suffered unfairly. From Pain to Peace is a great tool to bring peace to what can seem like a hopeless situation.
Fr. Kristoffer McKusky, S.T.L.
≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠
From Pain to Peace is about healing after the death of Pat Bluth’s daughter, Tammy who was killed by a drunk driver. My family was involved as my son, Mike, was the driver of the car hit by the drunk driver. The car was a 1967 Ford Mustang our family had kept in storage for Mike’s 18th birthday. The day of the crash Friday, September 13, 1985 was my son’s 18th birthday.
Many years have passed and the crash still remains clear in my mind. Never does seeing a Ford Mustang, or Mike’s birthday or a Friday the 13th pass without sadness. Everyone heals in their own way and own time. My own relationship with God allows me to heal at my own pace. The pain and anguish was ongoing for many years.
This book gives insight into healing. How difficult it must be as one never really gets over this tragedy. The book is written in a kind and compassionate way. Pat has used her grief to help prevent drunk driving. The Lord has helped her deal in a constructive way. Everyone who ever drank and drove or was tempted to should read this book. FM
≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠ ≠
