Blindsided: A Journey from Tragic Loss to Triumphant Love

by Mark C. Roser

Why is there evil in a world created by a good and all-powerful God?

Ethan Roser, a 19-year-old studying to be a pastor at Wheaton, raised in Africa as the son of faithful missionaries, wrote those words just days before his death due to a freak accident on campus—almost as if he had left a message behind for his parents, siblings, and friends.

After Ethan died his father, Mark Roser, kept his sanity by writing, and wrestling with questions as profound as life itself. God had kept Mark's family safe for 22 years in Africa, doing missionary work; he needed to know why God permitted his son to die now. In Blindsided, he shares the answers to those questions.

This book will grip every parent, and it will inspire every person who strives to live for God.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2021

Reviews

[Tracy Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tears of sadness, joy and hope

I started the book with tears and am ending it the same. In between, there was shock, anger, and great sadness. I felt such empathy for the parents, hurt for the family, and disappointment in the college and the NCAA. My broken heart was on the mend when I realized that children are like library books that we borrow from the Lord and only He determines when they are to be returned. We see but for a moment; He sees for an eternity. If only I could live my life with the enviable faith of Ethan’s father. I fall very short.

[Yudit · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the spring of 2017, I was a senior at Wheaton College getting ready to graduate. I will never forget where I was on April, 22nd when I was told the news of Ethan's passing. I never met Ethan, but I recall how the whole campus went into mourning for the loss of our classmate. As a small community, all of us were deeply impacted. I remember being given a bracelet with Ethan's name and his soccer number made by his soccer team. To this day, I wear this bracelet on the 22nd to remember to pray for Ethan's family and for the student involved in the accident.
I found out that Ethan's father had written this book recently and am so glad I got my hands on it. This was at times a hard book for me to read because it was discussing things I witnessed, people I know, and times I lived through firsthand. I loved Mark's honesty in talking about grief. As someone who has lost someone and went through grief, this book was an encouragement in many ways. There were many poignant passages. I loved the sections at the end where Mark put out 30 ways to help get through your grief. This section could be read at any time and has scripture readings to go with it. Perfect to be used for a devotional or even as a study guide.
I know this was more like a journal for Mark, but there were a few sections that I felt jumped around a bit. I also felt that Mark assumed we knew who people were and would name them by name, but he didn't always explain who was who.
I would recommend this book for anyone who has gone through the loss of a loved one or really for anyone who wants to help someone who is going through grief. But honestly, for anyone wanting to read a story about how God is moving, this one is a good example.

[Marissa Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful testimony

Loved this book, it showed the pain of losing a child, the anguish of the family, but at the same time, the hope in eternity, the love of God to us, the suffering of Christ and best of all, our redemption through His death.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if the book meant more to me because I live in the same city as the author, or because my youngest is right now the age Ethan was when he passed away, or because I have been in Mason high school numerous times. I know that I was meant to read the book, and it was providence that it came up in a conversation this week. My biggest fear (and I am a firm believer in God and God's will) is that I will lose a child, and that it will be out of my control. I can do everything possible to protect my children, but I cannot control what happens to them. I tell them all the time that I trust them but don't trust the people around them. So this book came at a time when I worry more than I should about my adult children.
I cried through most of the book, to where I could not see straight. I stopped many times to write down verses or take notes. I kept the list of 30 touchpoints at the end, because I feel they will help me in my own personal life/hurts but also in helping others I interact with.
Thank you Mr. Roser for being real. Thank you for sharing your story and not just saying "it will all be ok." Thank you for trusting the Lord, working through the hard, sharing your family with us, and for what you and your wife did in Ethan's life before he went to heaven, that made such an impact on so many even now. THANK YOU.

[Kimberlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This true story was hard to read. My daughter's classmate at Wheaton College was killed by a random accident when he volunteered at a track and field event. I sent his parents a sympathy note, and they eventually sent me the book his father wrote about the student, Ethan's, life and legacy and about the father's journey of grief. Wow. This man's quest for what and why gripped me as the reader and as someone who has known grief. I loved his quest to hear from God, and I appreciated his use of quotes from others and from Biblical verses. He ends the book with 30 points of comfort. I wish I had read this closer to my father's death last year.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very hard to read, not because of the way it was written, but because it was so heart wrenching. We have a son who is 19 and I think that just made it even more heartbreaking.