Broaddus, Cindi 1949(?)–

PERSONAL: Born c. 1949; divorced; three daughters.

ADDRESSES: Home—Duncan, OK. Agent—c/o Author Mail, William Morrow, 10 E. 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Dr. Phil Foundation, member of board of trustees.

WRITINGS:

(With Kimberly Lohman Suiters) A Random Act: An Inspiring True Story of Fighting to Survive and Choosing to Forgive (memoir), Morrow (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: On June 5, 2001, Cindi Broaddus was driving to the airport when somebody dropped an acidfilled container off a highway overpass. The container smashed through her car's windshield, drenching Broaddus in acid that dissolved her clothes and ate into her skin, disfiguring her face. Broaddus was rushed to the hospital, sure that she was dying. Instead, she began a slow and painful recovery, which she recounts in A Random Act: An Inspiring True Story of Fighting to Survive and Choosing to Forgive. The author describes the inner strength she got from growing up in difficult circumstances and then raising three children of her own as a single mother. She also discusses the profound role her faith played in her recovery, beginning with her courageous decision to forgive her unknown assailant early on and to focus instead on her healing. In fact, Broaddus sees her recovery as a new lease on life, and a chance to rethink many early assumptions. As she told Robin Finn in an interview for Good Housekeeping: "Technically, I am a victim, but I don't want to have a victim mentality. I think somebody has given me a second chance to live a different life, to use what happened to me to make a difference." A Publishers Weekly reviewer felt that the author's "determination and unassuming compassion will encourage those facing major crises."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Broaddus, Cindi, and Kimberly Lohman Suiters, A Random Act: An Inspiring True Story of Fighting to Survive and Choosing to Forgive, Morrow (New York, NY), 2005.

PERIODICALS

Good Housekeeping, May, 2005, Robin Finn, "A Brave Face," p. 145.

Library Journal, May 15, 2005, Lynne F. Maxwell, "Finding Hope in Gray Matter: Ten Recovery Memoirs to Ease Troubled Minds," p. 130.

Publishers Weekly, February 28, 2005, Lynne F. Maxwell, review of A Random Act, p. 53.