Never The Same

"My greatest successes in life so far have been derived from my greatest tragedies.  My greatest sufferings have produced my greatest victories."

"What happens to you in life isn't nearly as important as what you choose to do with what happens to you in life.  Don't hide the scars."

Those are the words of B.C. Fleming otherwise known as the Blown Up Guy. 

He's known as the Blown Up Guy, because he was literally blown up not once, but twice while serving in Afghanistan as part of the 10th Mountain Division as a team leader in a reconnaissance platoon.  In April 2006, Fleming got his first taste of guerrilla warfare when his military vehicle ran across a double stack of mines buried in the road.   The 14,000-pound Humvee was lifted off the ground and hurled about ten feet to the side of the road.  Miraculously, Fleming escaped without a scratch.

The next time, he would not walk away.  On a sunny afternoon in late July of the same year, a convoy in which Fleming was traveling was attacked by a suicide bomber who exploded three feet away from the door of is vehicle.  Fleming woke up in a ditch, bloody and burned, with multiple life-threatening injuries.   After reconstructive surgery and fourteen months of agonizingly difficult rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX, he decided it was time to stop whining about it and get on with his life.

Never The Same:  The Untold Story of One Soldier's Personal Encounter with a Suicide Bomber is Flemings latest book.  The book began as his personal journal entries and evolved into the book.  He candidly shares "the real story" of the war in Afghanistan as he experienced it.  You can hear some of his testimony, which he shares in the book in this interview:

While Never The Same is not the most well written book I've ever read and there are some editing issues in the book, I'm not sure I've ever read a more inspiring story in quite a while.  The book includes pictures as well as a chapter written by Fleming's wife Jamie and a letter Fleming wrote to the suicide bomber responsible for the injuries that nearly ended Fleming's life.  This letter would be one of the avenues God used to bring healing to Fleming:

"I wrote my thoughts on a piece of paper one day.  It turned into a letter to the suicide bomber (which he will obviously never read).  I began writing about the horrific pain of burning and realizing, though mine was temporary, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to end up in a place where I believe he is now.  That terrorist would have ultimately won the war over me, even in death, if I would have carried the burden of hate with me for the remainder of my lifetime.  There was no way I was going to let that happen.  He failed in life and he failed in death.  He's dead and I'm alive. It was time to move on.  I've never lived a better life since almost losing it."

Never The Same is an inspiring and God exalting story of a soldier's survival physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually because of the grace poured out on his life by the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.

*Audra Jennings, media specialist with B&B Media Group, sent me a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review.

You can connect with Fleming online by visiting his website blownupguy.com and his facebook page located at www.facebook.com/blownupguy. 

Blessings,
Jennifer