The Beauty in Breaking

Michele Harper is an emergency room doctor who has held various leadership positions at the hospitals where she has worked throughout the years. Her professional trajectory has taken her from the South Bronx to Philadelphia, during which time she accumulated a wealth of experiences, all of which contributed not only to her expertise as a doctor but also to her general understanding of her personal life. Raised in Washington, DC, young Harper endured the trauma of domestic abuse within her home, an experience that helped motivate her to become an emergency room physician. Harper is a graduate of Harvard University and the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. Throughout the book, as she recollects meaningful seasons in her life such as her childhood, her career, and her divorce, she guides readers to a place of encouragement. Her story exemplifies the possibility of a beautiful life even after being broken. 

After her divorce, Harper tried the online dating scene but struggled to find real connection. Eventually, however, she met Colin, a cop, with whom she experienced “an impossible love” (168). Colin was going through a divorce when he started dating Harper, and his ex-wife was showing dangerous signs of emotional instability.