In An Instant: A Family’s Journey of Love and Healing, a collaborative journal by Lee and Bob Woodruff, reveals how a courageous and loving family, whose life dramatically changes without any warning, pulls together to turn a possible disaster into a victory of the soul. However, this story is more than just a story about one family, it is also the story of a nation at war and the consequences of that war on the lives of its’ citizens and/or those they love.  

In an Instant tells the harrowing experience of Bob and Lee Woodruff when their seemingly perfect life is literally blown apart, when Bob (co-anchor for ABC News), on assignment in Iraq, sustains a traumatic brain injury from a roadside bomb. However, while almost all news watching adults are aware of Bob’s grave injuries from the shrapnel that pierced his brain almost no one knows the story of what came next as, while ‘Lee recalls ‘his brain was swollen out of his head like a giant tumor,’ he battled pneumonia, sepsis, and more. The reader, will soon discover as they travel along the Woodruff’s journey from first date, to Bob’s law career, to the passion he found for journalism while covering Tiananmen Square for CBS News , through his pride at being chosen to fill the seat of the late Peter Jennings, that this heartwarming story quickly reveals how quickly one’s life can change.

The personal glimpses into their lives shows Lee’s feelings, as she stands beside the man she loves, while he undergoes life threatening surgeries, is kept in a drug-induced coma and receives cognitive therapy. Sensitive readers should be made aware that Lee’s descriptions of Bob’s physical trauma are immediate and raw and her honesty regarding the emotional roller coaster ride she found herself on is gripping. However, the book is without self pity and constantly reinforces their message that Bob is one of the fortunate ones who not only survived the attack but was also afforded top-notch care. This being said they openly discuss how, while Bob was fortunate enough to receive the best care and rehabilitative services, the majority of soldiers with similar injuries are not as fortunate. I personally thought the book was inspirational and extremely gripping and was never confused by the back and forth movement of time but some readers may find this a little distracting. If anything, Lee and Bob’s book is a testament to the survival of the human spirit and to the power of love, family, trust, and generosity. I believe that from this point on, what Michael J. Fox is to Parkinson’s Disease and Christopher Reeve was to paralysis, Bob Woodruff will be to the face of TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury.

Tags: in an instant: a family’s journey of love and healing, bob woodruff, lee woodruff, non-fiction, autobiographical, traumatic brain injury, abc news anchorman, inspirational, love