by Julehart1 » 08 Mar 2021, 03:33

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Arturo's Dream" by Elizabeth Seraphin & Robert Mummey.]

Arturo’s Dream is a nonfiction book that is written by Elizabeth Seraphin and Robert Mummey. In the book, Elizabeth describes the phone call that completely changes her life. She was told that her 25-year-old daughter, Amanda, had an accident riding her horse. Her horse tripped on a rail, and Amanda was thrown to the ground while the horse fell on top of her. In devastating detail, Elizabeth described finding out that Amanda had a traumatic brain injury and wasn’t going to survive. Elizabeth and her family were asked if they would consider donating Amanda’s organs. They were faced with a gut-wrenching decision and literally held other people’s lives in their hands. Elizabeth and her brother, Robert, touchingly remember Amanda and also describe how a meeting, which happened seven years after Amanda’s death, has allowed the family to finally begin to heal from their grief.

I admired the way Elizabeth expressed her sorrow and anguish in losing her daughter. It showed courage and tremendous strength to talk about something so painful. This book showed how a random accident can have devastating effects that can be felt for a lifetime. I also appreciated the fact that the author discussed some of the nighttime dreams that she had, which included dreams of her daughter. The dreams were very personal and added a lot of authenticity to the book. One other thing that I liked was that Elizabeth shared her memories of a trip that she took to Las Vegas with her two daughters. The trip happened just days before Amanda’s accident. These were obviously very special and precious memories because they were some of her last memories of Amanda being alive. Learning about the amazing relationships that Amanda had with her mother and sister was very insightful and helped me get to know more about her.

The book also highlights organ donation. Elizabeth’s initial reaction was that she didn’t want her daughter to be a donor. I think that this is a very natural first reaction that Elizabeth had, and I’m glad that she was honest in expressing her feelings. I’m sure that many have felt the same in her situation, and it’s important to see that it’s perfectly fine to feel that way.

The title of the book intrigued me. I wondered how the title connected to Amanda and her family. When I finally realized who Arturo was, it made perfect sense. His dream really was beautiful. It was a very powerful scene in the book.

The only small issue that I had with the book was that it was a bit brief, as it was just 77 pages. I would have liked some more details and information but understood why Elizabeth and Robert felt that this story was complete.

The brevity of the book was not nearly enough to lower my rating in any way because I loved everything else about it. I’m delighted to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The amount of strength that it took for Elizabeth and Robert to tell their story is remarkable. It was a very personal story, and it was deeply appreciated. Organ donation is an important topic. The fact that Elizabeth was hesitant and doubtful about organ donation was very worthwhile information to share. Another plus was that the book was exceptionally edited, as I didn’t find a single error. I would recommend this amazing book to anyone who has lost a loved one. I would also recommend it to people who like nonfiction books that contain very personal and touching stories. 

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Arturo's Dream
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