UNSHAKABLE

An Inspirational Story of Dreams, Faith and Hope

The story of Unshakable began with an assignment to write a short article about Rick Silanskas. Rick lived in Florida and had adopted a child after having a vivid dream about a little girl in trouble. From the time I first heard about the story, it gave me goose bumps:

Rick and his wife, Stephanie, already had four children in various stages of their teen years, and the parents were looking forward to their time alone together. All that changed on the night of December 23, 2002.

Rick’s dream unfolded in a dark, bombed-out basement, where he found a small child looking for help. In his dream, he swept her into his arms, and looked up to the top of the stairs where his wife, Stephanie, was waiting for them. Carrying the child to safety, he rushed up the stairs but, just as he was about to hand the little girl to his wife, he woke up. The dream was so real to Rick that he became gripped with an unshakable certainty that this little girl existed – and needed his help.

In complete faith, he and Stephanie completed the paperwork needed to adopt a child. Convinced for some unknown reason that she was in Russia, he contacted an adoption agency specializing in international adoptions, and even enlisted a sketch artist to capture the image of the girl on paper.

Nadia sketch

Just three weeks later – on the day that the Silanksas’ home was approved for adoption – the photo of a young girl who matched Rick’s drawing exactly appeared on the website of a Russian orphanage. Her name was Nadia, which means “hope” in Russian.

Their journey wasn’t over yet, and what unfolded next provided the fascinating story that became this book. This is more than the story of one man’s faith – it is a reminder of the importance of following our dreams, both literally and figuratively, and never losing sight of what we’re searching for.

Nadia as found

Because Rick listened to his dream, he not only found and adopted Nadia, but he and Stephanie have since adopted a second Russian daughter and have created The Project Anna Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides food, clothes and medical supplies to Russian orphanages.

It is impossible to hear Rick’s story without being touched. Writing this book was truly an extraordinary adventure, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Bonus: Order this book through my web site and receive a FREE DVD documentary about the story behind UNSHAKABLE!!