Read what people are saying about “Missing Pieces”
Readers have commented that they cried, they felt like they were right with me in the story, that they couldn’t put the book down. They love its powerful message. People will benefit from reading it, and it will help other people. Read below for just some of the testimonials.
Missing Pieces is a courageous memoir that gives hope to anyone who has been a victim of violence and suffers from PTSD. There is real comfort at the heart of this book to know it IS possible to work through trauma and find joy again.
I honestly could not put down “Missing Pieces.” The story is compelling, and I think it is going to be a tremendous help for people who have been through trauma. It’s sad and uplifting at the same time. It’s a story worth telling and I think Scarpino told it very well.”
In this poignant and inspiring memoir, the author recounts their journey of survival following a terrorist bombing in New York City in 1977 and her lifelong battle with PTSD.
Through raw and honest storytelling, she sheds light on the lasting impact of trauma and the resilience it takes to reclaim life. Central to this journey are her dogs, whose companionship became a lifeline.
From breeding and showing Boston Terriers in the 1980s to working with Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers (‘Tollers’) for performance and service work, the author’s bond with her dogs emerges as a profound source of healing and strength.
Her first Toller, Turner, provided life-changing support during her darkest moments, demonstrating the remarkable power of the human-animal connection.
This book is a testament to perseverance, the importance of mental health awareness, and the unconditional love that animals can bring. A compelling and heartfelt read.
As a fellow survivor of terrorism, Missing Pieces by Christiane Scarpino deeply resonated with me. Her honest recounting of the emotional, physical, and mental aftermath of the bombing mirrored so many of my own experiences. Like Christiane, I too faced the unspoken weight of PTSD—flashbacks, anxiety, and the sense of disconnection from a world that couldn’t understand what we had been through. Her raw depiction of navigating life and healing after trauma gave me a sense of solidarity that only a fellow survivor could understand. Christiane’s ability to find resilience amidst such profound suffering truly inspires me. Missing Pieces not only offers a powerful window into the struggles we often endure in silence as survivors, but also highlights the strength it takes to rebuild our lives. This memoir is a beacon for anyone trying to understand the long road to healing, and for fellow survivors, it is a reminder that we are not alone in this journey.
Missing Pieces: A Memoir is a powerful, raw, and deeply personal account of surviving the unspeakable horror of terrorism.
The author, Christi Scarpino, in 1977, at just 21 years of age became a casualty of the Cold War, enduring a devastating FALN bombing in New York City that would become a part of her, ingrained in her for the rest of her life.
With unflinching honesty, Christi reveals how the trauma of that day and the ensuing investigation led to decades of pain, struggle, and PTSD, a reality of crime victims, terror survivors and their families too often overlooked in the aftermath.
As someone whose father was murdered by the same FALN, I know firsthand how quickly the world moves on, leaving survivors and their families to pick up the shattered pieces alone; in those days without any government help.
Society labels survivors as “strong,” assumes they are fine, and then forgets. But this memoir forces us to remember. It gives voice to those whose suffering lingers long after the headlines fade, exposing the deep and lasting scars of terrorism.
Missing Pieces is a compelling story of one woman’s remarkable resilience. It also is an important historical document and I thought-provoking read. Missing Pieces challenges us to truly see the survivors, to acknowledge their pain, and to understand the heavy cost of terror beyond the immediate tragedy.
Christi’s “Missing Pieces” is a brave and brutally honest memoir that takes the reader through her struggle to learn about, identify and battle through nearly 50 years of, what is now known as PTSD.
She takes us on her difficult journey through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) before she even knew what it was.
It’s amazing how strikingly similar our journeys have been.
Christi was “blown up” in one of the early, and lesser-known 1977 FALN terrorist bombings at the Mobil Oil building in NYC. Her physical injuries were “minimal,” but her psychological wounds would affect her deeply for the rest of her life. She doesn’t understand it right away, and she doesn’t know it will affect her for the rest of her life. Even those around her doubt her injuries and how serious they are for her. It cost her career, relationships, and denied her being able to do normal things with normal people again.
The symptoms she describes are common to people with PTSD, as we now understand. It’s incredible how many of us react to loud noises, loud crowds and other events similarly. We just can’t do them.
As Christi begins to learn about this “new diagnosis,” PTSD, she begins to understand why she isn’t normal and never will be again. However, she learns how to cope with it and live a happy life again.
She teaches us that we need to “own” our grief, not let it own us. She teaches us how to be patient with ourselves ~ and that’s ok.
Take this journey with her and learn how she coped with her injuries. You’ll find similar symptoms and learn her solutions that you may be able to use in your life. Find out if Christi, in the end, finds her Missing Pieces!
Tim Brown is a retired FDNY/OEM firefighter, survived both tower collapses in NYC in 2001 and responded to the 1993 terrorist attacks on the WTC and the 1995 OKC terrorist bombing Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996. Tim is a DoD Subject Matter Expert in the trial known as US vs KSM.