broken for you book review

Broken for You

Introduction.

Welcome to a journey through the pages of Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos 📚. This novel , a captivating blend of drama , romance , and a sprinkle of historical intrigue, takes its readers on an unforgettable voyage of discovery, healing, and the power of human connection. 🌿✨

Stephanie Kallos, the brilliant mind behind this story, brings to life a narrative that is as much about the characters’ inner journeys as it is about their shared experiences. Published in the mid-2000s, Broken for You unfolds within the vibrant setting of Seattle, Washington, and it’s here that the lives of two very different women intersect in the most unexpected of ways.

Diving into genres like literary fiction and women’s fiction , Kallos crafts a world that’s rich with emotion, depth, and the complexities of the human spirit. This novel is not just a story; it’s an experience—a mosaic of broken pieces coming together to form something truly beautiful. So, let’s embark on this adventure together, exploring the broken, the healed, and the beauty in between. 🌈💔

Plot Summary

Broken for You unfolds with a narrative that delicately weaves together the lives of its characters through a series of transformative events. Here’s a detailed journey through its story:

Exposition — The novel introduces us to Margaret Hughes, an elderly woman living alone in her sprawling, antique-filled Seattle mansion. Margaret is battling a brain tumor, a secret she keeps to herself, choosing to live in the shadow of her impending mortality rather than seek treatment. Her life takes a pivotal turn when she decides to take in a boarder, a decision that leads her to cross paths with Wanda Schultz.

Rising Action — Wanda, reeling from a breakup and the disappearance of her father years ago, moves into Margaret’s mansion. As Wanda and Margaret grow closer, they share more than just space; they share their stories, their pains, and their collection of broken things, including Margaret’s vast assortment of antique porcelain. This period marks the blossoming of friendship and the healing of old wounds as the two women discover the power of companionship and empathy.

Climax — The turning point comes when Margaret decides to break her valuable porcelain collection, symbolizing her desire to break away from the past and free herself from the weight of her memories and regrets. This act of destruction, paradoxically, becomes an act of creation, as the pieces of broken porcelain pave the way for new relationships and beginnings.

Falling Action — The aftermath of the porcelain breaking brings more people into Margaret and Wanda’s lives, including several boarders with their own broken pasts. As they all live together, the mansion becomes a sanctuary for healing, understanding, and forgiveness. The characters confront their personal demons, reconcile with their pasts, and forge deep, meaningful connections.

Resolution — The novel concludes with the characters finding peace with their pasts and optimism for their futures. Margaret faces her illness with courage and acceptance, knowing she has created a family from the fragments of broken lives. The mansion, once a symbol of Margaret’s isolation, is now a home filled with love, laughter, and the promise of new beginnings.

Throughout Broken for You , Stephanie Kallos masterfully crafts a story of redemption, the transformative power of human connection, and the beauty that can arise from the fragments of broken lives.

Character Analysis

In “Broken for You,” Stephanie Kallos introduces us to a cast of deeply human, complex characters, each with their own stories, pains, and paths to healing. Here’s a closer look at the main characters:

Margaret Hughes — An elderly woman who owns a mansion filled with antiques and lives a solitary life. She is battling a brain tumor but chooses to focus on living her remaining days with meaning. Margaret is introspective, compassionate, and carries a profound sense of loneliness and regret over her past, particularly regarding her relationships and family. Her decision to take in boarders signifies her desire for connection and redemption.

Wanda Schultz — A young woman dealing with the aftermath of a broken relationship and the long-standing mystery of her father’s disappearance. Wanda is resilient, searching for a place to belong and a sense of family. Moving into Margaret’s mansion marks the beginning of her healing journey, where she learns the value of friendship, love, and facing one’s past.

Character Development :

• Margaret transforms from a reclusive, guarded individual to a maternal figure who finds joy in the company of others, ultimately confronting her illness with acceptance and grace.
• Wanda evolves from feeling lost and isolated to finding strength in vulnerability and forming deep, meaningful connections with those around her.

These characters, along with others in the story, create a tapestry of human experience, each thread highlighting the power of healing, the importance of connection, and the beauty in the broken. Through their journeys, Kallos invites readers to reflect on their own lives, the pieces that may be broken, and the ways in which they, too, can be mended.

Themes and Symbols

“Broken for You” by Stephanie Kallos is a rich narrative filled with recurring themes and symbols that enhance its depth and message. Let’s explore some of the major ones:

Healing Through Connection — The novel underscores the transformative power of human connection. As characters open their hearts and homes to one another, they find healing in shared experiences and mutual support, illustrating that no one has to face their brokenness alone.

The Beauty in Brokenness — Kallos presents brokenness, both literal and metaphorical, not as something to be hidden but as something that can lead to beauty and new beginnings. The act of breaking and mending porcelain serves as a metaphor for the characters’ personal growth and healing.

Redemption and Forgiveness — Characters in the story seek redemption for their past actions and learn to forgive themselves and others. This theme is particularly evident in Margaret’s journey, as she seeks to make amends for her perceived failures as a mother and friend.

Porcelain — The antique porcelain in Margaret’s mansion symbolizes the fragility of life and relationships. Its eventual breaking and the art created from the shards represent the beauty that can emerge from embracing and transforming one’s broken parts.

The Mansion — Margaret’s mansion, initially a place of isolation, becomes a symbol of community and healing as it opens up to boarders who become an unconventional family. It reflects the evolution from solitude to solidarity and the creation of a safe space for healing.

Gardens — The gardens in the novel symbolize growth, renewal, and the natural cycle of life and death. They serve as a backdrop for many pivotal moments in the story, illustrating the characters’ internal growth and the passage of time.

Through these themes and symbols, “Broken for You” invites readers to reflect on their own lives, the nature of healing, and the ways in which brokenness can lead to unexpected beauty and strength. Kallos weaves a narrative that not only entertains but also offers profound insights into the human condition.

Style and Tone

Stephanie Kallos’s Broken for You is a beautifully crafted narrative that stands out for its unique writing style and tone . Here’s how these elements contribute to the novel’s mood and atmosphere :

• Lyrical and Imaginative Prose : Kallos employs a lyrical writing style that flows effortlessly, drawing readers into the world she creates. Her descriptive prose is rich in imagery, making settings and emotions palpable. This imaginative use of language enhances the novel’s themes of healing and transformation.
• Intimate and Reflective Tone : The tone of the book is intimate, offering a deep dive into the characters’ inner worlds. Kallos’s reflective tone encourages readers to ponder the themes of brokenness, redemption, and the beauty of human connection. This introspective quality makes the novel resonate on a personal level with its audience.
• Use of Humor : Despite the themes of loss and brokenness, Kallos skillfully incorporates humor into her narrative . This not only provides moments of lightness but also adds depth to her characters, making them more relatable and human.
• Multiple Perspectives : The novel employs multiple perspectives, allowing readers to understand the story from different angles. This technique enriches the narrative , providing a comprehensive view of the characters’ journeys and emphasizing the theme of interconnectedness.
• Symbolism : Kallos uses symbolism effectively throughout the novel , with objects like porcelain and settings like the mansion serving as metaphors for broader themes. This use of symbolism adds layers to the narrative , inviting readers to look beyond the surface.

Together, these elements create a mood that is at once contemplative and hopeful. Kallos’s ability to balance the heavy themes of the book with moments of beauty and humor makes Broken for You a compelling and emotionally rich read. The style and tone are integral to delivering the novel’s message, engaging readers deeply with the characters and their stories.

Literary Devices used in Broken for You

Stephanie Kallos’s novel , Broken for You , showcases a masterful use of literary devices that enhance its narrative depth and emotional impact. Here are the top 10 devices employed:

• Metaphor — The entire novel can be seen as an extended metaphor for the process of healing and redemption. The breaking and mending of porcelain mirrors the characters’ own breaks and subsequent healing, illustrating how beauty and wholeness can emerge from the act of embracing and repairing one’s brokenness.
• Symbolism — Objects and settings, such as the antique porcelain and the mansion, are imbued with symbolic meanings. They represent themes of fragility, memory, and the transformative power of community and personal connection.
• Foreshadowing — Kallos uses subtle hints and clues to foreshadow future events in the narrative , such as the eventual breaking of porcelain pieces. This technique builds anticipation and deepens the narrative’s thematic resonance.
• Imagery — Vivid descriptions of settings, objects, and emotions paint a rich and immersive picture of the novel’s world. The imagery of broken porcelain shards, for example, evokes a strong visual and emotional response, reinforcing the theme of beauty in brokenness.
• Irony — The novel employs situational irony, especially in the unexpected ways characters’ lives intersect and unfold. Their journeys of healing and discovery often take ironic turns, contrasting their initial perceptions and intentions.
• Personification — Kallos occasionally personifies objects and settings, lending them emotional qualities that reflect the characters’ internal states. This enhances the narrative’s emotional depth and connection with the reader.
• Allusion — References to art, history, and literature are woven throughout the narrative , enriching its themes and offering deeper insights into the characters’ experiences and transformations.
• Parallelism — The parallel stories of the characters create a tapestry of interconnected lives, highlighting the themes of community and shared humanity. This device emphasizes the novel’s message that no one is truly alone in their experience of brokenness.
• Flashback — Through flashbacks, Kallos explores the backstories of her characters, revealing the events that shaped their present selves. This device provides context and depth to their motivations and struggles.
• Motif — The motif of breaking and mending runs throughout the novel , not just in the literal sense with the porcelain but also in the characters’ personal lives. It serves as a constant reminder of the novel’s central themes of healing and transformation.

These literary devices are skillfully woven into the fabric of Broken for You , enhancing its storytelling and thematic depth. Kallos’s use of these techniques invites readers to engage with the narrative on multiple levels, making for a rich and rewarding reading experience.

Literary Devices Examples

For each of the top 10 literary devices used in Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, here are tables providing examples and explanations:

Foreshadowing

Personification, parallelism.

These examples and explanations showcase how Stephanie Kallos utilizes literary devices in Broken for You to enrich her storytelling, deepen thematic exploration, and connect with readers on multiple levels. Through metaphor, symbolism, foreshadowing, and other techniques, Kallos crafts a narrative that is both emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating, inviting readers to reflect on themes of brokenness, healing, and the power of human connection.

Broken for You – FAQs

What is the main theme of Broken for You? The main theme revolves around the transformative power of human connection and the beauty that can emerge from healing and mending brokenness, both literal and metaphorical.

Who are the main characters in Broken for You? The main characters include Margaret Hughes, an elderly woman battling a brain tumor and living in a mansion filled with antiques, and Wanda Schultz, a younger woman dealing with personal loss and seeking a new start.

How does the setting contribute to the story? The setting , a mansion filled with antiques in Seattle, serves as a physical and symbolic backdrop for the themes of memory, healing, and transformation. It evolves from a place of isolation to one of community and connection.

What role do antiques and porcelain play in the novel ? Antiques and porcelain serve as key symbols, representing the fragility of life and relationships, as well as the possibility of creating beauty and wholeness from brokenness.

How does Broken for You address the concept of family? The novel explores the idea of chosen family, showing how individuals unrelated by blood can form deep, meaningful connections that provide support, love, and a sense of belonging.

What literary devices are used in Broken for You? Stephanie Kallos employs a variety of literary devices, including metaphor, symbolism, foreshadowing, imagery, and parallelism, to deepen the narrative’s emotional impact and thematic resonance.

Can Broken for You be considered a romance novel ? While Broken for You contains elements of love and relationships, it is more accurately described as literary fiction , focusing on themes of healing, redemption, and the power of human connection beyond romantic love.

What challenges do the characters face in Broken for You? Characters in the novel face personal challenges related to loss, guilt, loneliness, and the search for identity and purpose, which they overcome through friendship, love, and mutual support.

How does Broken for You end? Without spoiling the story, the ending of Broken for You is hopeful, showing the characters finding peace with their pasts and optimism for their futures, underscored by themes of healing and community.

Is Broken for You suitable for all ages? Broken for You is best suited for adult readers, as it deals with complex themes, emotional depth, and experiences that resonate more fully with an adult audience.

This quiz is designed to test your comprehension of Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos, focusing on key plot points, themes, character relationships, and literary devices explored in the novel .

Identify the literary devices used in the following paragraph from Broken for You . After completing the exercise, check your answers below.

Margaret stood in the shadow of the towering shelves, each laden with porcelain that whispered tales of past epochs. As she reached out, her fingers trembling slightly, she could almost hear the faint echo of laughter and sorrow that each piece carried. The mansion, with its creaking floors and the light filtering through stained glass, seemed to hold its breath, anticipating the breaking that was to come.

• Personification : The porcelain “whispered tales” and the mansion “seemed to hold its breath,” attributing human qualities to inanimate objects to deepen the emotional resonance.
• Imagery : Descriptions of the “shadow of the towering shelves,” “porcelain,” “trembling fingers,” “creaking floors,” and “light filtering through stained glass” create vivid visual images that engage the reader’s senses.
• Symbolism : The porcelain represents both the fragility of life and the beauty that can emerge from embracing one’s history and brokenness.
• Foreshadowing : The mention of “anticipating the breaking that was to come” hints at future events in the story, creating suspense and building thematic depth.

This exercise aims to enhance your understanding of how literary devices can be employed to enrich narrative , evoke emotion, and convey deeper meanings within a text.

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Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos

Introduction

National best seller and Today show Book Club selection, Broken for You is the story of two women in self-imposed exile whose lives are transformed when their paths intersect. Stephanie Kallos's debut novel is a work of infinite charm, wit and heart. It is also a glorious homage to the beauty of broken things. When we meet septuagenarian Margaret Hughes, she is living alone in a mansion in Seattle with only a massive collection of valuable antiques for company. Enter Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come west to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent many years building up protective armor against the outside world. As their tentative friendship evolves, the armor begins to fall away and Margaret opens her house to the younger woman. This launches a series of unanticipated events, leading Margaret to discover a way to redeem her cursed past, and Wanda to learn the true purpose of her cross-country journey. Both funny and heartbreaking, Broken for You is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world's wrongs.

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Recommended to book clubs by 9 of 9 members.

Member Reviews

A nice, well-developed story with interesting, quirky characters. Everyone in our book club liked it, which is not often the case.

I loved this book and I have recommended it time and again. The characters are quirky and resilient despite their dysfunctional family backgrounds. As I neared the ending of this book I knew I would miss... (read more)

By happenstance, this became the first book we read as a book club and we all just adored it! There are so many quirky characters that become an unlikely family. There is so much to discuss in this book!... (read more)

"Broken For You" by Stephanie Kallos Explore this book and you’ll experience a plethora of emotions. “Breakage” is a metaphor throughout this beautifully written, multi-layered nov ... (read more)

We had a lively discussion with Broken For You. Analyzing the biblical implications of the title to the intricate relationships between characters. Some of the group liked the book, some LOVED the book... (read more)

The "broken characters" were a wonderful springboard for our bookmembers to share some of their personal childhood issues they were forced to deal with.

I thought the book was well written, kept my attention and informative. I loved it!

Our follow up discussion and comments were very interesting; in fact, it was one of the best talks we've had. The book certainly gave us that! I personally found the story to be too unrealistic

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BROKEN FOR YOU

Stephanie kallos, . . grove, $24 (384pp) isbn 978-0-8021-1779-3.

Reviewed on: 07/12/2004

Genre: Fiction

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Reading guide for Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos

Summary  |  Excerpt  |  Reading Guide  |  Reviews  |  Beyond the Book  |  Read-Alikes  |  Genres & Themes  |  Author Bio

Broken For You

by Stephanie Kallos

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' Opinion:

• Literary Fiction
• Wash. Ore. Idaho
• Contemporary
• Mid-Life Onwards
• Female Friendships

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Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

• How is Margaret portrayed in the beginning? Who is this woman who is entombed in a vast, carefully dusted house with her father’s collection? An unlikely heroine, she is an old, peculiar recluse. How is her diagnosis an inciting force for change? Talk about her growing appreciation of the uncommonness of common things.
• In the clamor of the first armload of plate crashing, Wanda "suddenly knew that she had found a home with someone who was as deeply aggrieved and crazy as she was. It was tremendously comforting" (p. 133). How does the Hughes house, truly a sanatorium, provide a haven and structure for these women to pass through madness to sanity? Can you think of other books or plays that explore the same theme?
• When Wanda reflects on her life in the theater, she says, "You’re part of this intense family for a while, and then everyone moves on" (p. 165). How does Troy shift the rules? What is different about the steady accretion of people at the Hughes house?
• How much is it possible to know another person? What are the limitations imposed on characters in Broken for You , both by accidents of history and by their own actions? Even with breakthroughs of knowledge and trust, do any characters keep a part that is private? Which ones? Margaret and Wanda, for instance, as close as they are, each retain core secrets until almost the end. Why? And what are the secrets? Why does M. J. Striker withhold his own secret and recognition so long?
• What do we learn about Margaret’s mother? How does she function in the book? Were you reminded of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit ? In her visitations, what is her value to Margaret? There is high comedy in her shenanigans. "Oh, Margaret really! You must enjoy this hoopla while you can. Believe me when I tell you it’s no fun being part of a scandal after you’re dead" (p. 289). Is Margaret working something else out in these spectral appearances? (The visits of Daniel are fewer and very different. How?)
• Did you find conflicts between traditional values and newer ones? Where? Which characters grow larger or more sympathetic from being challenged by younger people? Does the converse hold?   
• How is the theme of the quest important in the book? Which characters commit themselves to seeking someone lost? What are the results? Who abandons the quest and why? Are there surprising rewards?
• Parenting is explored in various characters’ stories. Discuss Oscar, Margaret, and Michael as parents. Others? How is the idea of surrogate parenting developed? How successful is it?
• "Once the door is open . . . you can’t shut it again, impose limits, set degrees of openness . . ." (p. 126). In what ways do Margaret and Wanda, and later Gus and M.J., irrevocably make themselves available and vulnerable to life?
• What does it mean to bear witness in this book? "Margaret had been given the privilege of bearing witness to Wanda’s life" (p. 126). What other characters participate in this act? What are the larger ramifications of bearing witness, and why does it matter? For instance, why does it matter to honor the dead and find out their stories and try to fulfill their wishes?
• Talk about the title. To how many characters and things and ways of life does it pertain? What is meant by a "dissolution of borders" on page 269?
• How is the star motif expanded in the book? Think about the star imagery from Margaret to l942 school children in Europe. (See page 282 for some of Margaret’s own thoughts on the subject. And see page 290 for a further amplification of the symbol.)
• "The Hughes Collection Scandal: Desecration or Deification?"  (p. 278). What do you think about the central occupation in the book? Art? Or half-crazed mayhem? What do Wanda’s pieces say about her as an artist? What does the media criticism of her work say about the art? "Consider the artist’s point of view" (p. 293). Do you accept the premise that salvation or restitution may come through destruction and loss—and moving on? Which characters find their own salvation through building up others?
• How does the Crazy Plate Academy serve as a culmination of the process that has gone on through the book? "Sorting was like beachcombing on a shore where every pebble is precious and time is boundless. And the familiar way everyone chatted—so many hands in constant, purposeful, attentive motion—gave Margaret the feeling of being at a quilting bee, a barn raising, or a wake" (pp. 327–328). What do these activities, certainly disparate, have in common?
• How does the fact that neither Margaret nor Wanda is Jewish affect their joint efforts vis-à-vis the Holocaust victims and memories? When does expiation for her Nazi-sympathizer father become important for Margaret?  Do you agree that "at the center of this controversy is the concept of worth: what we as humans value—and why" (p. 280)? When Margaret is researching Irma’s past in Paris, she realizes, "Bodies had been shattered and things had not" (p. 313). How directly does her involvement in the making of tesserae correct this imbalance? Does the appearance of the Jewish patron Babs Cohen add credibility to the undertaking?  Discuss other times Judaism appears in the novel. Think about, for instance, Sam Kosminsky singing in Hebrew at dinner, the background imagery of Kristallnacht (p. 227), the museum in Paris, and Bruce singing the blessing.
• Irma Kosminsky is the most vocal proponent for doing mitzvahs. What are some of them? How do you explain her life-affirming resilience and sense of humor? How does she explain it? In a conversation with M.J. we hear "Why bother, Mrs. K? . . . We both know you’re going to win" (p. 274). Apart from Scrabble, how else does Irma "win" in the book?
• Discuss Stephanie Kallos’s definition of a relationship: "a marvel of construction, built up over time and out of fragments of shared experience . . . Maybe we feel such a strong kinship with pique assiette because it is the visual metaphor that best describes us; after all, we spend much of our lives hurling bits of the figurative and literal past into the world’s landfill—and then regret it. We build our identities from that detritus of regret. Every relationship worth keeping sustains, at the very least, splintered glazes, hairline fractures, cracks. And aren’t these flaws the prerequisites of intimacy?" (p. 295). Do you find this an alarming view of human behavior? Or do you find it oddly comforting?
• What is the significance of the Sevre chocolate service? How is the mystery resolved? What is the story of the single teacup? "It was like that all through the war, things like that, little things that people did" (p. 321). What ultimately is the fate of the tête-à-tête?
• How is the poetry of Yeats interwoven in the book? Why in particular should it be Yeats who recurs?
• What were the funniest parts of the book for you? Think of Irma, with her dry survivor wit as well as her bolder humor. Recall Maurice, whose clumsiness is a boon in the Hughes house. And Margaret’s outrageous mother. Talk about other moments of high or low comedy.
• How are love and sex recurring symbols of healing and joy? Think about specific relationships, those that survive and those that don’t. Describe M.J.’s loves, both as Striker and as O’Casey. How do you compare young love to that of older people? Why does Wanda wait so long to accept Troy as her lover? What does the parenthood of Susan and Bruce say about love, sex, and family?
• The china, both whole and in pieces, generates stories, such as the ice-fishing ninety-two-year-old Alta Fogle. "Maybe this is true. Maybe not. You can never be sure: all objects in the Hughes house have to have meaning, and if their past is not known, stories are invented" (p. 337). In chapter thirty-two, the narrator addresses the reader directly, as if one were M. J. Striker approaching the Hughes house. "Pay attention. Let your mind embrace metaphors. It’s your first clue about what goes on here" (p. 337). How do these quotations help us understand multiple levels of the story? Is the making of mosaic art also a metaphor for writing stories, the novel, for instance?
• Did you find the dream sequences effective in conjuring up the memories and surreal perceptions of the injured Wanda and the dying Margaret? As a reader was it hard for you to suspend disbelief in a kind of free fall?  Have you encountered magic realism in other books? In the third dream sequence, Margaret approaches Wanda. "Be happy. . . . We’re worth more broken" (p. 348). How is the last line of Margaret’s dream, "The balloon arcs up forever, into the night sky, past millions of glittering stars" (p. 350), magically apt?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Grove Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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Broken for You

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2004

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Built from Broken: A Science-Based Guide to Healing Painful Joints, Preventing Injuries, and Rebuilding Your Body Paperback – June 7, 2021

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Heal painful joints, prevent injuries, and rebuild your body from the ground up. (If mainstream fitness advice has left you broken down and beat up, it’s time for a new strategy.) Most middle-aged fitness enthusiasts and athletes have been dragged down by joint pain, injuries, and other ailments commonly accepted as “part of getting older.” But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, anyone can conquer joint pain and rebuild their body. It simply requires understanding the hidden causes and a road map (this book) that leads to the solution. Built from Broken presents a paradigm shift in how to think about corrective exercise, sports nutrition, and joint health. Once you see how the system works, you’ll never look at exercise or joint health the same way again. Part 1 lays the foundation for understanding why your joints are breaking down. You’ll learn:

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Natural injury recovery strategies that improve healing time and tissue repair quality.

Part 2 gives you a step-by-step corrective exercise guide and list of action steps to rebuild your body from the ground up. Including:

The ideal training schedule to maximize muscle recovery and connective tissue repair (in as little as 2 days per week , at any age ).

Illustrated corrective exercise instructions (with several home workout options).

How to strengthen joints with cutting-edge connective tissue training techniques.

A step-by-step training program complete with workout routines.

Whether you have been training for a few years, a few decades, or have never stepped foot in a weight room, it’s not too late to overhaul your body. If the conventional path of lifting and stretching has left you broken down, why not try a new strategy? This book is your way out of the pain/injury cycle. All you have to do is follow three simple steps.

Read the book.

Follow the action steps inside to resolve your pain.

Implement the 4-week corrective training program outlined in the book.

Just imagine, in 4-8 weeks from now, you could be in a pain-free, mobile, strong, and functional body. One that allows you to do the activities you love, push the limits of your capabilities, and achieve your true physical potential. This process can start for you right now. All you have to do is click the “buy” button and order your copy of Built from Broken .

• Reading age 5 years and up
• Print length 348 pages
• Language English
• Dimensions 8.5 x 0.79 x 11 inches
• Publication date June 7, 2021
• ISBN-10 1735728500
• ISBN-13 978-1735728506
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

From the author.

• Shoulder labrum tears and ongoing impingement syndrome.
• Chronic elbow tendinopathy.
• Ligament tears and inflammation in my wrists and hands.
• Low back pain that flared up any time I lifted something heavy.
• Knee pain, Achilles injuries, pulled groin and hamstring muscles...

From the Inside Flap

• CHAPTER 1 A Case for Load Training
• CHAPTER 2 The Anatomy of Pain
• CHAPTER 3 What to Focus On Instead of Pain Relief
• CHAPTER 4 How to Train Your Collagen
• CHAPTER 5 Movement: The Original Mobility
• CHAPTER 6 Science-Backed Mobility Training
• CHAPTER 7 Corrective Routines
• CHAPTER 8 Preventing the Big Three
• CHAPTER 9 Injury Recovery: Strategy and Tactics
• CHAPTER 10 Exercise Programming and Periodization:
• Why It's Smart to Be Disciplined
• CHAPTER 11 Mastering the Movements
• CHAPTER 12 The BFB Training Program
• Appendix: Workout Routines

From the Back Cover

• 3-step pain management guide (no NSAIDs, injections, or surgery required)
• 5 minute pain-relieving morning mobility routine
• Corrective routines for common postural faults
• The "tight muscle quick fix" protocol
• Illustrated instructions for dozens of corrective exercises
• Step-by-step injury recovery guide
• 4-week training plan to maximize muscle, joint, and bone adaptations
• Home workout routines you can complete with minimal equipment
• The exact 9 step process for resolving your current joint pain and building your future injury-proof body
• Workout routines and charts (with 2, 3, and 4 days per week training plans)

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ SaltWrap; 1st edition (June 7, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 348 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1735728500
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1735728506
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 5 years and up
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.79 x 11 inches
• #2 in Exercise Injuries & Rehabilitation
• #2 in Pain Management (Books)
• #2 in Stretching Exercise & Fitness

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Ethan Blanchette

Joint pain killing your workouts? This book is for you.

Tony Blauer Built from Broken Review

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Built From Broken

Peach Phillips

About the author

Scott h hogan.

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm an A.C.E. (American Council on Exercise) Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Orthopedic Exercise Specialist (A.C.E.), and nutritional supplement formulator.

My goal as an author is to bring together the best ideas in therapeutic sports nutrition, fitness training, and functional movement -- with the goal of keeping you (and myself) strong, mobile, and built to last.

I've spent most of my life battling injuries, joint pain, and just being plain beat up. So I know what it's like to struggle to stay healthy, let alone make substantial progress toward strength, athleticism, or body composition goals.

Ultimately, I want to help you battle through injuries, pain, and physical limitations to reach your personal fitness goals.

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Maxton Hall review: This swoony private school romance makes the grade

Prime Video's series adaptation of Mona Kasten's YA hit "Save Me" stars Harriet Herbig-Matten and Damian Hardung.

Kristen Baldwin is the TV critic for EW

James Beaufort (Damian Hardung) is a star athlete, an heir to his wealthy family’s fashion brand, and so physically perfect he could be mistaken for the younger brother of Michelangelo’s David. Ruby Bell (Harriet Herbig-Matten) is a scholarship student, brilliant and unassumingly beautiful, who works a waitressing job after school to help augment her family’s finances. Ruby thinks James “embodies everything that is wrong in the world of the rich.” James doesn’t even know Ruby exists — until an unexpected encounter throws them together. You know where this is going.

Maxton Hall — The World Between Us follows the YA enemies-to-lovers blueprint to the letter, and that soothing familiarity is its greatest strength. Based on Mona Kasten’s hit novel Save Me , the German-language romantic drama on Prime Video is a swoony, soapy, lushly produced treat that evokes all the right feels, as the kids probably no longer say.

Stephan Rabold/Prime Video

Ruby Bell has one goal in life: Oxford University. As a top student at Maxton Hall, an elite private school packed with kids from rich and powerful families, Ruby doesn’t mind being “invisible” to her uber-wealthy peers because it allows her to focus on her studies. But when she accidentally learns a scandalous secret about Lydia Beaufort (Sonja Weißer), James rushes to protect his twin sister by persuading Ruby — as obnoxiously as possible — to keep quiet. The escalating tensions between Ruby and James result in a comic catastrophe at an important school gala, prompting Maxton Hall’s humorless headmaster (Thomas Douglas) to craft a punishment that forces them to work together. Eventually, their barbed insults soften into cheeky flirting, and the likeliest of unlikely love stories begins.

The titular world between Ruby and James is less about money than it is family, and much of the charm of Maxton Hall comes from time spent with the Bell clan at their humble home. Ruby actually enjoys hanging out with her parents, Helen (Julia-Maria Köhler) and Angus (Martin Neuhaus), and she’s best friends with her younger sister, Ember (the immensely charismatic Runa Greiner), a bubbly and confident aspiring fashion designer. Though Angus suffered an accident that left him in a wheelchair and the family’s bank account is all but bare, the Bells are rich in love. The scenes between Ruby and her family, especially those with Neuhaus’ Angus, radiate a genuine warmth.

The atmosphere at the Beaufort mansion, by contrast, is chilly and harsh. James and Lydia live under the steely glare of their father, Mortimer (Fedja van Huêt), a ruthlessly ambitious and demanding power broker who expects his son to take over the company after attending Oxford. Mortimer all but ignores Lydia, and the twins’ mother, Claudia (Clelia Sarto), never challenges her husband’s severe parenting style. The closest James has to a real father figure is his chauffeur, Percy (Hyun Wanner), a fact that is as tragic as it is ridiculous. Though it’s not as self-aware as the original Gossip Girl , Maxton Hall treats the rarefied world of its wealthy characters as equal parts aspirational and absurd.

As the central couple navigates their class-crossing love story, no romantic trope is left behind: The charged and awkward moment on the dance floor when the music switches from a peppy pop song to a ballad; the constantly interrupted first kiss; the snooty mean girl (Eli Riccardi) who thinks James is hers for the taking. Naturally, Ruby and James teach each other important life lessons: She encourages him to find his true passion; he reminds her that the future isn’t as important as now.

Prime Video

Sure, James’ transformation from arrogant bully to soft-hearted sweetie is whiplash fast, but Maxton Hall knows what its audience wants: #Juby! (#Rames?) The improbable about-face wouldn’t work as well as it does if the leads didn’t have such appealing and authentic chemistry. Herbig-Matten brings a likable sharpness to Ruby, while Hardung reveals the sadness behind James’ icy gaze as he dares to imagine a life away from his father’s control. (One note: Viewers who dislike subtitles can watch Maxton Hall dubbed in English, but be warned, I found the sterile, uncanny smoothness of the dubbed dialogue almost intolerable.)

Six episodes isn’t enough to serve multiple subplots, but Maxton Hall squeezes them in anyway: James’ gay friend Alistair (Justus Riesner) nurses a crush on his classmate, and Lydia frets over a secret romance that could upend her life. Perhaps showrunner Daphne Ferraro is just seeding the ground for a potential second season, as there are two more installments in Kasten’s series: Save You and Save Us . I hope Prime Video greenlights another semester at Maxton Hall ; this broken boy-meets-brainy-girl story is by the book in the best way possible. Grade: B+

Maxton Hall — The World Between Us premieres Thursday, May 9, on Prime Video.

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