The Boy Born Dead : A Story of Friendship, Courage, and Triumph By David Ring, John Driver & David Wideman-Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books; Reprint edition (August 2, 2016)
• Genre: Non-Fiction/Some Religion
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801019451

Book Synopsis

Where We See Tragedy, God Sees Possibility . . . 

Few American epics of tragedy, intrigue, friendship, and faith will entertain and challenge the soul like the narrative inspired by the events in the real life of David Ring--a boy literally born dead who survives with sobering consequences. Living with the harsh realities of cerebral palsy, Ring faces impossible odds yet stumbles into an improbable life of inspiration and influence in the small, unassuming town of Liberty, Missouri, in the 1960s.
As a teenage boy, Ring finds himself tragically orphaned and being shuffled about to various homes. Along this journey, he faces secret, unspeakable atrocities that eventually plunge him into the depths of depression and attempted suicide. But amid the harsh troubles of life, he encounters another boy his age named David, the son of a local pastor. Their unlikely friendship begins on the rocks, but eventually develops into something extraordinary and unique that alters the trajectory of both of their lives--and the whole town of Liberty--forever. 

Book Trailer

My Review

One of my fellow reading buddies told me about a book her sister bought her. She said this story was very powerful. She said she thought I should read it. I'm so glad that I did! David Ring's life at first glance reads like a movie. It's fascinating to watch, but you're almost positive it can't really be true. The more you read the more horrified you are that this happened to someone and amazed this person was able to rise above the ugliness.

David Ring's life has not been easy. From the very first he was born dead and his mother was grieving his passing. David's poor mother had lost several babies before this. My heart went out to her with me also being a mother to an angel baby. David was born with disabilities and from many heart wrenching things that happened to him, he was a very angry person. There were those who took advantage of him in a very terrible way. The things that changed his life were good people, friendship, love, and bringing God into his life. This book was uplifting to me as I saw the dramatic transformation that a few changes in his life could bring. Whether or not you are religious, this book can still bring a good feeling to you seeing how someone's life became happier. It showed me how choice of actions and feelings from both boys' named David changed both of their lives for the better. 
Excerpt from: The Boy Born Dead

I do not remember caring about the color of anyone’s skin, nor did anyone seem to care about mine. Even so, I suppose I cared enough to remember that my class had a couple hundred students in it but only about five of them were black. We knew that we had our differences, but I guess we just didn’t care as much about those differences as others seemed to in other parts of the country. Around here, there were no separate water fountains marked “white” or “colored.” No signs posted prohibiting anyone from doing anything because of race. For a town in the 1960s, we were actually pretty progressive when it came to that kind of stuff

.

I did not recognize it as such at the time, but that teenage version of me thought nothing could ever get to us in Liberty. I subconsciously believed our currents would continue to flow and trickle as they always had. What reason did they have to change?

As I would soon discover, the reason was coming. He was limping his way to catch a school bus on a September day in 1969, walking there by himself from Lewis Street, just a few blocks from the church.

Few would have taken much notice of the awkward, shambling figure. He couldn’t have been made in any image more different from the rugged western outlaw Jesse James. Yet this figure, like that one, would have a brother in arms. If those were the James brothers, we were the Davids, because we shared a first name. And we had our own adventures, though guns and banks were not involved.

If Jesse James became known across the world for what he stole, David Ring has become famous for what he gave. If Jesse brought blood, terror, and death, my Liberty brother has offered something as close to the opposite as could be imagined. If the old outlaw represented the illusion of power, then my good friend has represented the power of weakness.

David Ring didn’t have the bravado that comes to those with a gun and a mask. His bravery shone through in the obstacles he overcame. And bearing witness to this changed my concept of normal as well. I’m far from alone in those changes. People across the world, many who have never even met him personally, are different people because of what he has given them.

But I have had the good fortune to know him. I was there for this story. And if there are particular scenes here that I may not have personally witnessed, I have rendered them to the best of my ability through my knowledge of the people, their own accounts, and my imagination of how those scenes transpired.

What follows is a story like none you’ve ever heard.

*****Purchase Your Copy Here*****

{About the Authors}

David Wideman has been a pastor at

 Christ Journey Church in Coral Gables,

Florida, since 1983.

David Ring has been an internationally known

speaker since 1973, sharing his story with over

100,000 people each year at churches,

conventions, schools, and corporate events.

He is frequently featured on national television

outlets, such as TBN's Praise the Lord

 and Focus on the Family.

John Driver is the creator of Ignition 7,

a global initiative of videos, books, apps,

and resources crafted to equip people

to be sustained in their faith. He is the

author or coauthor of more than a dozen books.