Tolog Review: All We Know of Heaven

All We Know of Heaven
by Jaquelyn Mitchard
reviewed by Megan Gmelich

All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard is a story about Bridget Flannery and Maureen O’Malley who were two best friends who had known each other for as long at they can remember. They would have never expected to be involved in such a huge tragedy in the small town of Bigelow, Minnesota. The two girls, who looked practically identical, were on a beautiful December drive, when suddenly a huge truck collides with Maureen’s car. The girls were so battered they were unidentifiable. The medical staff was able to preserve Bridget long enough to get her to the hospital, but there wasn’t much hope for broken, fragmented Maureen. After many surgeries to try to save them both, Bridget just barely made it out alive, surviving in a coma, whereas Maureen passed after a long, hard battle. 

While Bridget was in rehab, learning how to re-live her life again, the doctors realized they had made a horrible mistake. After running many tests, they became conscious of the fact that the girl in rehab is actually not Bridget but Maureen. While in rehab, Maureen had tried her best to tell everyone that it really was her but from how much damage was done to her brain, no one caught on. After breaking the news to the Flannery’s of Bridget’s newly discovered death, it brought them to blame the O’Malley’s for the suffering of their daughter. Kitt Flannery cursed the O’Malley’s for what they “had done” and even confronted Maureen after she was out of rehab. The once connected friends were then isolated from one another.

The book continues on to tell the hardship and acceptance of Maureen’s new handicapped life. This is a story of joy and sadness as the readers cheer Maureen on as she fights for her strength and courage to get her life back. The story not only teaches you of hardships for someone who is hurt, but for anyone who is physically, emotionally, and/or socially in distress. It teaches you that listening to bad things people have to say only makes you weaker in your fight for survival and redemption. 

Maureen and Bridget’s tragic, yet joyful story is based on an actual event involving two young women who were in a horrendous accident, which led to a case of mistaken identity. Jacquelyn Mitchard takes this subject and turns it into a brilliant masterpiece explaining the ups and downs of life. She tells a wonderfully written story of bliss and misery as we watch Maureen’s great recovery to her normal life.