Judith Keller

“If ISIS needed a doctor, they would take one. Just because she is American does not make her immune to the terror that runs through this country.”

How does one return from a nightmare unscathed? Dr. Clair Stevens, a newlywed pediatrician, has to come to terms with that question when she is suddenly and violently kidnapped while volunteering in Syria. Surrounded by violence and horror, she must find solace in even the smallest acts of kindness—but not even these are without peril, and soon she must reckon with the unthinkable when she begins to develop feelings for her captor.

Clair is only just learning how to survive when she is finally rescued and brought back to her loving husband. But when it seems that a normal life is once again within her grasp, she learns a truth that, if revealed, could undo everything she’s started to rebuild. The thrilling debut novel by Judith Keller, Returned Broken tells an unforgettable story of one woman’s battle with trauma, forgiveness, and self-discovery as she is thrust into a nightmare that refuses to end.