Claire's story is an inspiration. While I am not an abortion survivor, I related to Claire's personality and story in other ways. I loved seeing how God stretched her out of her comfort zone and all He has done in her life.

Claire has an amazing survival story- she survived an abortion that killer her twin, was adopted by parents who poured their life into her. She was a preemie and did not realize her amazing survival story until she was 20 or so. Her birth mother was 13 when she became pregnant with Claire and her mother ran the show and made the decisions. Today, there has been reconciliation and Claire goes around speaking at pro-life events and churches and etc. It is amazing to see how she is telling her story on a large platform.

What troubles me a bit about this story is that Claire did go on to become an unwed mother statistic. Yes, she married the baby's father and took for her own his three children, but it feels like God was not as much of the equation as He should have been. In grappling with her identity, dating a divorced man was probably not what she should have been doing while figuring it out. And while the child deserved love just like anyone else, living an almost proud, triumphant life in the midst of her pregnancy just bothered me. The book almost focuses more on her speaking than on her life struggles after she found out about the attempted abortion. I was looking for more realness to the story maybe.

I received this book from Waterbrook via NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The author has an incredibly unique and powerful story. I wanted to LOVE this book, because the story itself offers much to be excited about. However, the writing just isn't great. I struggled to get into the book and had to force myself to finish it. With such a powerful story, that was surprising. If I am totally honest, the author (who I know nothing about,) comes across as pretty unlikeable. If I had better been able to connect with her, I think I would have appreciated this book much more.

Again, her story is a powerful one. If you are a pro-life activist, you will likely be able to overlook the challenges with this book. If not, you might also find yourself struggling to get through it. With a few changes this could have been a book that would have been wonderful even for those who advocate for pro-choice legislation.

The publisher made a copy of this book available for review, this is my honest opinion.

*** I have received and read an E – ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own.***

It’s always tough to make a decision on whether to read a book on such a controversial topic. Coming from the deep South, I knew that this was a book that I had to read at some point.

Overall, it’s not the best book on abortion that I’ve read but it’s not the worst book either. I think it would’ve been much more interesting to read the birth mother’s side of the story rather than the survivor, or even better, to have both sides within the same book (even just a paragraph or two).

I found Survivor: An Abortion Survivor's Surprising Story of Choosing Forgiveness and Finding Redemption to be an intriguing read. Five stars.

About Claire Culwell , who is an abortion survivor, and is an adoptee who had loving adoptive parents. She didn’t know she was an abortion survivor until later in her life when her birth mother, Tonya confessed it to her. It’s a great story of love, hope, and forgiveness. A book that encourages life, and love and belief in God who loves us all and is willing to forgive us if we just accept Him into our hearts. She tells us about her life, how her adoptive parents loved her and her sister, how she found her birth mother and finding out she was an abortion survivor. Very good book. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publishers of #Survivor for the opportunity to read and review with my honest opinion.

Survivor
An Abortion Survivor's Surprising Story of Choosing Forgiveness and Finding Redemption
by Claire Culwell; Lois Mowday Rabey; Steve Rabey
WaterBrook & Multnomah
You Like Them You Are Auto-Approved
WaterBrook
Biographies & Memoirs | Religion & Spirituality
Pub Date 27 Apr 2021 | Archive Date 30 Jun 2021

This is the incredible story of a survivor of abortion. Truly inspirational. This will speak to someone who feels shame about aborting or someone considering it. Thanks to NetGalley and Waterbrook/Multnomah for the ARC.
Good read.
4 star

Culwell has a unique story to tell. She was to be aborted, but was not while her twin was. She relates her upbringing as a happy, loving adopted child of two very religious parents. She met her adopted mother at 21 and learned about the failed abortion. The author has a pro life ministry. Before reading this book I had never heard of an abortion survivor. Culwell mecer expresses any negativity about her story or toward her birth mother but I had to wonder thst she had have some anger at some point. The book is very religious so that may be a turn off for some readers. I focused on her story the most and thought it was an unusual angle.

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and strong. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A happy little escape!

I found this book to be a very interesting read! The author had an incredible story, one that I did not even realize was possible! Claire was adopted as a newborn into a loving family. She always need that she was adopted, but she had no idea that her mother had an abortion that ended the life of her twin. But, she survived! Claire not only forgives her birth mother and develops a relationship with her, but also shares her story on a large scale. She becomes a spokesperson for the pro-life movement. Claire is kind, loving, and forgiving to women who are considering or who have gone through an abortion. She also shares different ministries who help women both before and after the births of their babies, offering support that many women considering abortion need. Her message is one of forgiveness and unconditional love. I recommend this book if you want to read an uplifting story, and see God's heart for women, no matter what choices they have made in the past.

Right up front, the only reason this book lost a star is because I personally did not care for the writing style. However, the book itself is a really awesome story and I feel bad for docking it a star. (But I have to be honest).

This book is about Claire Culwell, who survived an abortion, who was then adopted into a loving family, and eventually reached out to find her birth mother as well as getting involved in the pro-life movement. It really is a miraculous story.

The ideal audience for this book is for those who have ever had an abortion, someone who is looking into getting an abortion, someone just looking for options after a pregnancy, or someone who knows someone who is thinking about abortion or had an abortion. There is even a section in the book that provides a lot of great resources for help with all aspects of abortion.

All in all, this book as okay for me, again just because of the writing style. I pulled out a lot of information about how someone in Claire's shoes, during an unplanned pregnancy, feels and is treated by others...especially others in the church. And I will be using this information to check myself when confronted with someone in similar circumstances.

How is it possible to survive an abortion? Only through a miracle! Survivor tells the story of one such miracle. I was immediately intrigued when I saw the synopsis of this book, and decided I wanted to read it.
Claire was an adult already when she met her birthmother. She had always known she was adopted, and knew that her adoptive parents loved her dearly. She basked in that love and never questioned it, but then she decided, as an adult, to find and meet her birth mother. What a shock, then, to learn that she was meant to have been aborted. What did that mean for her life now? Was anything she knew about herself actually true?
Claire soon became involved in the pro-life movement, and started working closely with Abby Johnson, who had just left Planned Parenthood. As Claire allowed God to use her more, He opened up more and more opportunities for her to work for Him, and she found herself on an amazing adventure.
Survivor is an incredible story. Claire's life puts a face on the many babies who are aborted. Any one of them could have been a beautiful person like her. This is also quite a challenging story in another way, as she shows an example of someone who is willing to follow God's leading, going way out of her comfort zone.
My favorite quote from the book? “Did God have a special purpose and plan for me, even way back when I was in my mother's womb? Yes....”
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

"Survivor" is a story of an abortion survivor, and also the the kind, who had a twin that did not survive it. Claire Culwell knew as a child, that she was given up for adoption, but all the details came out much later, when she met her birthmother. There was a great deal of emotional healing on both parts, but the wounds remained. That was one half of the book, the other half was about the author's activism in the pro-life movement. Even though I like this story and appreciate the testimony, the book did not feel complete. The author shared some safer and peachier moments in abundance, but some uncomfortable ones were scrapped into one page. Also the message of the whole book was not clear. Was it for the people who are thinking about abortion issues or a little bit of ministry advertising, or some soul searching on the activism part? It was a bit confusing.

Survivor is an incredible, unbelievable, yet true story of a child who was adopted by a warm, loving, wonderful couple who desperately wanted a family. It is the story of a woman’s life, faith, hope, love, forgiveness and redemption based on the choices that she made. It is amazing to see how she became the woman she is now.

SURVIVOR

Claire Culwell

I received this book from Net Galley for the purpose of review. I can write any type of review.

Survivor is quite an interesting life story. As I began the story I struggled to get going. It did not grab my attention. However, I continued onward and found the book quite an interesting and amazing story.

Claire is an abortion survivor. We follow her story from her young life and with many challenges and hurts to virtually current day. Claire is more than an abortion survivor she is a woman who has learned thru her challenges and pain to use those times to benefit herself and more importantly others.

She currently has four children and is a national speaker. I am grateful I hung in there to read the story.

I actually had the chance to meet Claire Culwell in the summer of 2019 when she came to visit North Carolina to defend a bill that would protect babies born alive after a botched abortion. I was excited to hear more of her story as she only spoke briefly at the event. Her story is one that many are told isn't true or has never happened. I appreciate her sharing this story that is, no doubt, difficult to share. The writing was easily digestible and the perfect mixture of looking into the past to tell the story of her life versus present-day activism.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

“My lived experience amplifies the message I give whenever I speak: Every human life is precious. Every human life is a unique, valuable individual designed by God. Every human life is deserving of love, respect, and a chance at a full and vibrant existence.”
Quote from Survivor by Claire Culwell

Claire Culwell never gave much thought to her adoption, until the opportunity to get to know her birth mom came and she learned the truth; Claire survived an abortion that took the life of her twin sibling. Through forgiveness, grace, healing, and support, Claire is now a prominent voice for the Pro-Life movement and a strong advocate for adoption. You will have to read her book, Survivor to learn the details.
If you have adopted a child, or thinking about adoption, are adopted, or even wanting to learn more about adoption, Claire’s story is a great example to read.

I graciously received an advance e-copy from Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.