Book excerpt: Andre Dubus is celebrated for his ability to depict the subtlest of human emotions in his characters, and when he turns to nonfiction, the resulting insights are no less illuminative. Especially moving are his descriptions of his children, his wrenching account of the 1986 automobile accident that cost him his leg, and of the ensuing struggle for his spiritual and physical survival. Broken Vessels is a book that, in its scope and sympathy, its grace and courage, never fails to startle with the sudden impact of quiet truths, passionately felt and powerfully expressed.