Mistaken Identity Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope

Meet Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak: one buried under the wrong name, one in a coma and being cared for by the wrong family.This shocking case of mistaken identity stunned the country and made national news. Would it destroy a family? Shatter their faith? Push two families into bitterness, resentment, and guilt? Read this unprecedented story of two traumatized families who describe their ordeal and explore the bond sustaining and uniting them as they deal with their bizarre reversal of life lost and life found. And join Whitney Cerak, the sole surviving student, as she comes to terms with her new identity, forever altered, yet on the brink of new beginnings. Mistaken Identity weaves a complex tale of honesty, vulnerability, loss, hope, faith, and love in the face of one of the strangest twists of circumstances imaginable.

The Van Ray family-Don, Susie, Lisa, Kenny, and Mark-of Grand Rapids, Michigan, shares an avid interest in outdoor recreation. Don and Susie, married for thirty-one years, are now dedicating themselves full-time to an outdoor camping experience for youth in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Kenny resides in Southern California, Mark and his wife in the Detroit area, and Lisa, in West Michigan, is pursuing a career in physical therapy. The family continues to be involved in the work of their local church and community. The Cerak family-Newell, Colleen, Carly, Whitney, and Sandra Sepulveda-lives in northern Michigan, where Newell is a youth pastor and Colleen a PE teacher and coach. Carly, a graduate of Taylor University, lives in Africa serving in ministry to street kids. Sandra, after a year with Invisible Children to bring awareness of the plight of children in Uganda, is pursuing a nursing degree at Grand Valley State University. Whitney graduates from Taylor University in May 2009. Mark Tabb has authored and coauthored over twenty books, including A Promise to Ourselves with Alec Baldwin.