Tracy Elliott - Unbroken

Words of praise for unbroken,
by Tracy Elliott

Tracys openness and honesty about her life is inspiring. She is an example of how, through the love and power of Jesus Christ, lives can be changed.

Pat and Cheri Summerall
Former NFL Athlete and
Multi-Award-Winning
Sports Broadcaster for CBS,
FOX, and ESPN

Tracy Elliott is living proof that through strong faith in Christ one can overcome trial and tribulation. Tracy radiates the light of God, and I feel inspired after being in her presencethat all things are possible through Christ our Lord.

Janine Turner
Actress

Tracy and her family are very spiritual and generous people, a fact made much more meaningful when you know where she was from and what she had to deal with growing up. This book shows us where she got the strength and ability to raise her family in such a positive and loving way. They are role models for our generation.

Jacob Arabo
Jeweler, Jacob & Company,
New York

Tracy Elliotts book, unbroken, is a must-read for every person who has been wounded by life. In this powerful, life-changing book, Tracys story is proof that it is not what happens to you in life that matters most, but what happens in you. Unbroken will not only impact your life, but it will inspire you to turn any adversity you face into an advantage for your success.

Keith A. Craft
President, Leadership
Shapers Institute; Corporate
Coach, Senior Leader,
Celebration Covenant
Church, Frisco, Texas

Meeting Tracy was definitely divine intervention. Her message of faith brought my husband and me back to the Lord. For that, we will be forever grateful.

Tracy Crist
Executive Director,
Mrs. Texas Pageant

Unbroken is the riveting story thousands of beautiful women need to hear about the real God. Not the religious, harsh, and angry one, who is preached in many pulpits across this country, but the one who is loving and forgiving and truly cares more about people than their performance. Tracy Elliotts unbroken is the healing balm for many who have endured the pain of sexual and verbal abuse.

Robert Morris
Senior Pastor at Gateway
Church in Southlake, Texas;
Author of the best-selling
book From Dream to Destiny

My wife and I first met Tracy and Bryan three years ago. It is a true testament to the power of God for her to go through all that shes been through and persevere to be the beautiful, caring person we know and love.

Mark McLemore
19-year Major League
Baseball Veteran and ESPN
analyst

Tracys story is uplifting and inspirational, not only because of the incredible odds she had to overcome, but also because of the inimitable wit and charm she displays in telling it. It is gripping and disturbing, but also funny and triumphant, and truly an example of how ones faith can help overcome the most difficult odds and help to keep striving for all the miracles that life has to offer.

Benedict Coulter
Co-Founder/President of
Trailer Park Inc.,
Hollywood, California

My prayer is that by Tracy telling her story tormented children and women around the world will find the courage and hope to believe there is a brighter future if they just hang on and place their trust in the same redeeming God that Tracy did. I only hope you are as profoundly touched by reading this story as I have been.

Mike Hayes
Pastor Covenant Church
Carollton, Texas

READER ADVISORY: DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS MEMOIR, THE TEXT OF THE BOOK CONTAINS SOME GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND SITUATIONS. WHILE CARE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO MINIMIZE THESE ELEMENTS, SOME ARE NECESSARY SO THAT THE TRUE NATURE OF THE AUTHORS EXPERIENCES CAN BE SHARED.

This is the authors true story, but in some instances the sequence of events, identities, and descriptions of some of the people have been changed to protect their privacy.

Copyright 2007 by Tracy Elliott

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Elliott, Tracy.
Unbroken / by Tracy Elliott ; with Jenna Glatzer.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7852-2167-8 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-7852-2167-0
1. Elliott, Tracy. 2. Christian biography. I. Glatzer, Jenna. II. Title.
BR1725.E463A3 2007
277.3'083092dc22
[B]

2006037787

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 QW 10 09 08 07

Contents

Bryan, Jacob, and Elijah:

This may be my book, but this is our story.
Without you, there would be no meaning to the title.
Thank you for believing in me.
As for me and
my house, we will
serve the Lord.

IM NOT A TEACHER, OR A PREACHER, OR A DOCTOR with all the answers about how to cure what ails you. Im just a person with a story. Its a story I hope will inspire you, and maybe help you see the world a little differently from when you started.

Lots of people have stories, but not all of them are willing to tell theirs. It takes some courage to expose things youve spent most of your life trying to block out. But if theres something Ive learned in life, its that shame is worthless. There are parts of my life Id rather forget, and decisions I made that werent very good, but theres nothing Im ashamed to talk about. All of it led me to where I am today, which is a good place. Im a wife and mother, a successful businesswoman, Mrs. Texas, and now an author. And Ive barely gotten started!

There are a couple of things Id like to tell you before we go further. First, I want you to know that my life wasnt always pretty, so there are some things in this book that may seem a little harsh. Thats because its the truth. To give you a real picture of what it was like to grow up in a world of abuse and addiction, I needed to stay faithful to the language that was really used and the events that took place. Theres nothing in this book meant for shock value.

Second, I want you to understand that this is not a self-help book, and I dont intend for anyone to think Im going to try to tell you how to live your life. Its easy to be a Monday morning quarterback when the football game was on Sunday, but its not up to anyone else to decide whats right for you. I feel very fortunate to be in a place in my life where Im able to share my story and know that Im okay with whatever comes of it, knowing that not everyone will see things the way I see them. The last thing any one of us needs is to have other people judge us when they havent lived in our shoes.

One of the ongoing themes in my life and in this book is that God loves everyone no matter what, and no one is beneath his grace or unforgivable in His eyes. He loves us in spite of anything we could do wrong, and He loves us more than we can imagine. Even when we cant see past the next hour or the next day, He has an amazing destiny for each of us, too. You are called to do things that only you can do.

Your calling may not seem big, or it may feel common, and it may feel like your actions go unnoticed, but I promise that God sees it. He knows your heart and your intentions, and I am so thankful for that!