Speed Bumps and Angels

Tornado warnings were posted in Canton, Ohio, on the night of author Cherie Kirby Hill Wren's birth in 1943. The storm was just a normal occurrence, but she can't help think it was a precursor of her life to come.

In "Speed Bumps and Angels, " Wren recaps the storms and speed bumps she has experienced in her life: nearly drowning when she was just two years old; being hit by a car; getting jilted, twice; running away from home and marrying a man who was abusive and ultimately tried to kill her; developing type 2 diabetes; being diagnosed with benign essential blepharospasm; having her mitral and aortic valves replaced; gaining a pacemaker; and enduring pulmonary hypertension.

In this memoir, Wren shows how these bumps served their purpose. First, they slowed her down so she didn't run out of control. Second, they gave her a little jolt, sometimes back to reality. Third, they kept her from getting too complacent. She shows that by conquering challenges, we grow and learn. We are here for a purpose, and by living each day to the fullest we can, knowingly or unknowingly, accomplish that purpose.