Replacement Child: A Memoir

Judy L. Mandel was born into a family crippled by grief. But it would be years before she would discover the shocking circumstances of their loss.

In her award-winning memoir, Replacement Child-now a New York Times bestseller-Mandel tells the true story of a horrifying accident: A plane crashes into a family's home, leaving one daughter severely burned and another dead. The death of the child leaves a hole in the family that threatens to tear it apart. In an attempt to fill the painful gap, the parents have a 'replacement child.'

This powerful tale of love and lies, family and hope, is an intimate account of being brought into the world to provide 'a salve for the burns.' As a child, Mandel unwittingly rides the deep and hidden currents of her family's grief-until her discovery of this family secret, years later, changes her life forever, forcing her to confront the complex layers of her relationships with her father, mother, and sister.