CLARKS SUMMIT — The Phillips family traveled on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after leaving Pittsburgh, where they enjoyed a mini vacation, and planned to stop in Hershey before heading home to Clarks Green. But a sudden dense fog enveloped the road, causing an accident that turned their plans – and lives – upside down.

The 23-car pile up took the lives of four people, two of whom were young children, on April 5, 2003. Barry Phillips, then 46, and his wife, Sarah, then 44, along with two of their three daughters, Sharon and Elisabeth, 17 and 5 at the time, all survived the crash after being life-flighted to three separate hospitals. (Their adult child, Jana, did not accompany them on the trip.)

But their journey home – and to recovery – was far from over.

Sarah Phillips recounts that journey in her first book, released last month, titled, “Penned Without Ink: Trusting God to Write Your Story.” She will hold a book signing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 5 at Duffy’s Coffee House in Clarks Summit. Copies of the book will be available for purchase, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Scranton.

Stories to encourage

The author said she wrote the book in hopes of encouraging people amid their own difficult journeys.

“We all benefit from the stories of others who have weathered the storms, and I was hoping that maybe our story could offer hope to other individuals that were going through hard times,” she said. “It didn’t have to be a car accident; it could be anything, but we all have hard times.”

She said the book does this by focusing on some of the things that comfort her soul.

“The book tells our story, yes, but it also pulls in scriptures and the promises in the Bible,” Sarah said. “It pulls in other stories of Bible characters that would relate…and it also pulls in stories of other people that have been through some hard things.

“It’s not just a factual account. It’s more of, ‘How did we respond to it?’ ‘What helped us on the journey?’ ‘What helps me now as I look back?’ …You still have to process your past, even though you’re in the present. You still wonder why it happened.”

In the midst of trauma

The 2003 accident left the Phillips family with varying degrees of injury. Elisabeth, the youngest, was transported to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh at UPMC and Sharon went with their mother to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. Both girls suffered concussions and were discharged after a couple days to stay with grandparents in a guest house near the Johnstown hospital.

Sarah had a broken neck, among other injuries, and needed two major surgeries. For the first three weeks, she was unable to see her husband, who was in a coma and hospitalized at UPMC Altoona.

Although heavily sedated and fighting for her own life, Sarah’s thoughts and deepest concerns during those first few days were for her family.

“When I first woke up, the first thought that came to my mind was Sharon, because she was driving (when the accident happened),” she said. “And I just thought, ‘She can’t carry this.’ What could you do? I mean, it was a pile up. I didn’t blame anybody — nobody could see (through the fog). And so, she was my first concern. And then I thought about Elisabeth. I didn’t know what happened to her. People had to tell me.”

She added she was extremely concerned about her husband, as she received second- and third-hand accounts regarding his condition and care, but knew there was nothing she could do for him.

From the scene of the accident, Barry, who had a partially-severed spleen and a traumatic brain injury, went almost immediately into emergency surgery, as he was losing blood as fast as he was given more. After three weeks, Sarah was transferred to a rehabilitation center closer to Barry and was able to visit him with the aid of a wheelchair, although he was still in a coma.

Sarah went home on May 7 and Barry was transferred to Mountain View Care Center in Scranton on May 8. She continued to undergo physical therapy at Allied Services, learning to walk over the course of several months. A head halo kept her neck stiff for about two and a half months, then a neck brace was used for another three months.

In mid-June, Barry spent 10 days at John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation in Wilkes-Barre, before finally going home. People from the community then volunteered to drive him several days per week to his rehab appointments in Wilkes-Barre, which continued into October.

A second tragedy

Just as there were countless people who helped and encouraged her family after the crash, Sarah said there were many who did the same as she took on the task of writing her book. The author said she never would have finished the inspirational memoir without the advice of people at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference, fellow members of a private writing group and the many people who reviewed her early drafts.

But no one was a bigger supporter than her husband.

After completing every chapter of the book, Sarah sat at the lunch table with Barry, who read and critiqued it. Then, two weeks after they finished going over the book’s final chapter, tragedy descended on the family.

After complications from an unexpected surgery, Barry, who is also well-known as a former Clarks Green Council member and community educator, died on May 15, 2015.

“I would never have thought that would be the last time he critiqued my writing,” Sarah said. “But I feel like that was a gift. I’m so grateful that he got to read the last chapter.”

Rather than getting lost in her grief, Sarah continued toward her goal of helping others find comfort in their own suffering. She received a contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas in summer 2015 and “Penned Without Ink” was released last month.

Phillips
http://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_ABJ-Penned-1.jpg.optimal.jpgPhillips

‘Penned Without Ink: Trusting God to Write Your Story’ by Clarks Green resident Sarah Lynn Phillips was released Sept. 26.
http://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_ABJ-Penned-2.jpg.optimal.jpg‘Penned Without Ink: Trusting God to Write Your Story’ by Clarks Green resident Sarah Lynn Phillips was released Sept. 26.

By Elizabeth Baumeister

ebaumeister@timesleader.com

IF YOU GO

What: “Penned Without Ink: Trusting God to Write Your Story” book signing with Clarks Green author Sarah Lynn Phillips

Where: Duffy’s Coffee House, 306 S. State St., Clarks Summit

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5

Cost: free admission

More info: Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Scranton. The book is also available in paperback and Kindle format from amazon.com. More info about the author can be found online at pennedwithoutink.com.

Reach Elizabeth Baumeister at 570-704-3943 or on Twitter @AbingtonJournal.