Found in the Wake: Your Next Book Club Book
2019: The Phone Call
No one ever plans to receive a parent’s worst nightmare call.
My husband, Chuck, and I received ours on Thanksgiving 2019.
A Palm Beach police officer called to inform us that our 25-year old son, Carter, had been struck by a boat off the southern coast of Florida and urged us to call the emergency room at St Mary’s Medical Center.
We phoned immediately and the nurse asked us, “How much do you know?”
Our hearts sank as we prepared for bad news. Yet nothing could prepare us for what she told us.
“Carter lost his right arm and sustained severe lacerations to both legs.”
What we assumed would be a day of gratefulness and bounty turned into a pit of profound despair.
Many blog posts here at LeilaViss.com turned a sharp corner from my experience as a piano teacher to my encounter with a monster named Grief.
Dozens of you reached out with generous support. It kept me afloat in a sea of loss.
2025: The Book
The day after the life-changing phone call, I began writing updates on Carter’s condition on a platform called Caring Bridge. My daily posts or “laptop therapy” turned into chapters. Eventually, my husband Chuck and son Carter contributed their own chapters. It evolved into one compelling story from three perspectives.
Six years later, we stand in the light again on the other side of our tangled dark tunnel.
The stories within the story of rescue, recovery, and resilience are now woven in our family’s memoir titled Found in the Wake.
I hoped to write another book in my lifetime, but never imagined it would be this one.
The tedious work of seeing the book published is over.
The work of getting the word out about the book is not and never will be.
That’s why this blog post. It’s my shameless plug to YOU to help us make an impact.
It’s what Carter predicted days after the accident and soon after his ventilator was removed…
“I can make more impact now than before the accident.”
Impact begins with ripples
💦Those who followed our story from day one were first to grab their copy when Found in the Wake was released in February of 2025. Thank you so much for spreading the word about the book to friends and family.
💦 Early reviews indicated what we felt—that it was a page-turner—which encouraged book sales.
“This true story of surviving a horrific accident will inspire and move you. Three voices full of raw emotion tell the story of Carter’s accident and his fight to recover – Carter himself, his mom and his dad.
I was blown away by Carter’s relentless determination to reclaim his life and his independence, and his unwavering belief that this accident had a purpose that could benefit others.
The power of community, the healing aspect of music, the freedom that forgiveness brings, the beauty of vulnerability, resilience on steroids – this book has it all.
Thank you to the Viss family for sharing their powerful story.”
💦 Several dear podcast friends invited me to be a guest on their shows to share our story. Beyond Measure with Christina Whitlock, Music Studio Start-Up with Andrea Miller, and Topcast with Tim Topham.
💦Chuck and I were invited to recount our experiences with loss and healing at South Sub Church with our congregation and savored our time autographing books after the service.
💦 Over the past few months, book clubs have included Found in the Wake on their book list.
South Sub Church’s Women’s Book Club
The women’s book club at my church invited me to their discussion of the book.
My sister-in-law in California prompted me to write questions for her book club to ponder.
Last week, I hopped on a Zoom call to answer questions at my friend Kay’s thriving book club in Oklahoma.
My interview with Kay’s group was their first with an author, and she shared the following…
“The group was so astounded that they are ready to meet other authors
(although I can’t imagine anyone else being more impactful than you were!)
One lady in particular spent decades as an attorney in the public defender’s office in Oklahoma City.
I think of her as a “one-tough-cookie” kind of personality.
She said she was brought to tears by your presentation!”
💦 In addition, I’m receiving frequent invitations to deliver a presentation I created with Carter, “Strike a Chord: Resilience in the Face of Tragedy,” with national, state, and local associations. Click on the button below to get in touch about a presentation for your group.
Ripples can grow into waves with your help
Your ongoing support and networking generate ripples with the potential to spread further than we can imagine.
Carter adjusted to playing piano with one hand, and he is an avid drawer of sea life.
🌊 After a full recovery, (spoiler alert!) Carter married Emily, and they treasure every moment with their daughter, Harper. He has formed the Carter Viss Foundation to support others affected by similar incidents and advocate for improved boating and diving safety standards. Driven by his lifelong passion for nature, Carter aims to make oceans safer for both humans and marine life. Consider boosting his efforts by donations or purchasing his artwork.
🌊 Follow Carter and his Instagram posts devoted to boating and diving safety.
🌊 If you haven’t read Found in the Wake, grab your copy HERE. ALL proceeds after costs go to the Carter’s Foundation. (Psst…these make great Christmas gifts!)
🌊 If you belong to a book club, please add Found in the Wake to your reading list and grab the Book Club Questions. With themes of boating, diving, sea turtles, hospitals, recovery, forgiveness, limb loss, music, spirituality—there’s a topic for everyone.
Thank you for supporting our mission to turn ripples into waves of impact.
Our hearts found gratefulness again.
We greatly appreciate you and YOUR story, too.