Book excerpt: A Darkness of Her Own chronicles what happens when a couples most joyous occasionthe birth of their first childgoes horribly wrong. A riveting personal story and compelling court room drama, it begins on the day that Ken and Lorraine Zarecor meet for the first time. The story follows them through their courtship, marriage, and birth of their only child, Heatherand the shocking and heartbreaking events that followed. Heather suffered severe brain damage at birth. While trying to preserve her life and dignity, her parents encountered many obstacles. The tragedy caused turmoil in their lives and their marriage. They found the medical professionals and governmental agencies largely impotent, intolerant, or unwilling to offer assistance. These failures forced the Zarecors to turn to the courts to discover the cause of Heathers brain damage, to redress the consequences of medical malpractice. Over the course of ten years, they encountered many obstacles, including missing or altered medical records, and attorneys who misstated facts attempting to protect guilty parties. Their goal was to insure that Heather would have the best possible care for the rest of her life, and, in the end, to see that she got justice.