Dlana Hall Bodmer’s Miracle Journey is unlike any book you’ve ever read before. It’s a mix of true crime and spirituality that will leave you feeling ashamed, angry, outraged, and then overwhelmed with wonder and a newfound faith in God. Few books have been so cathartic for me to read.

The story begins with the real-life murder of the author’s sister, Gina Renee Hall, in 1980. Dlana recounts her eighteen-year-old sister’s last words as she was leaving for a night of dancing at the local Marriott Inn in Blacksburg, Virginia. Hours later, Dlana received a strange phone call from his sister in which he asked Gina, “Where are you?” Her response cuts her off, “I’m at the lake.” Dlana then asked, “What are you doing at the lake?” Gina’s strange response: “I’m looking at it.” Dlana, confused by her responses and curious as to who Gina would have gone to the lake with, asked, “Well, who are you watching it with?” Gina responded with one word “Steve” and then clicked. Gina had told her sister exactly what she needed to convey in order for the clues to get out. That was the last time Dlana spoke to her sister. When Gina didn’t come home that night, she began the search, a search that led to Stephen Epperly, who had a history of violence against women. Although Gina’s body was never found, all the evidence pointed to Epperly’s guilt, and a jury convicted him of Gina’s murder.

Since then, Dlana has had to deal with the anger she felt toward Epperly, an anger that has been exasperated by him being on probation every year or two and her efforts to make sure he doesn’t get released. Dlana’s family was devastated by the loss of Gina, and that grief never fully went away. Family and authorities searched for Gina’s body for months without success, and Dlana and Gina’s father went to her grave without knowing what had become of her daughter.

Then, in 2016, Dlana began having strange experiences that inspired her to resume her search, and thus began the miracles. I won’t go into details about the miracles or the search, but to make a long story short, her Dlana started having strange dreams, and in the morning she would wake up and realize that she had scribbled messages from her while she was sleeping. Many of these messages didn’t seem to make much sense, but they all contained clues as to where Gina might rest and the truth about the last moments of her life. Dlana also started hearing songs on repeat on the radio or hearing words to songs that seemed to be clues. She had experiences that she couldn’t explain, other than that they had to be caused by some otherworldly intervention.

Dlana was determined to find Gina’s body, and the messages she received led her to various locations in her search. She met with police personnel. Her path crossed with psychics and paranormal investigators interested in and involved in Gina’s case. She listed help from family and friends. She dug into the riverbeds and left no stone unturned that she could lead to the location of her sister’s body. In the process, he also uncovered evidence and facts that had been suppressed or unavailable in the months after his sister’s murder, evidence that confirmed not only Epperly, but possibly others, were involved in the lake house terror. , facts that she would never have known if it had not been for the mysterious trip of 2016.

And through it all, Dlana wondered what the general purpose of all the messages she was receiving was. He had always felt great anger and hatred towards Epperly. She had always struggled with her grievance, but now she felt that these messages were trying to do more than lead her to her sister’s body. Could it be that she had to forgive the murderer of her sister? Could it be that she had to learn something on her own?

I can’t begin to explain the miracles that happened to Dlana. I can’t say whether or not the miraculous journey she details happened, but I believe it did, and Dlana provides plenty of evidence, including numerous photographs, to document her journey. I believe that there are forces invisible to us, forces of good and evil, and I believe that angels support us in ways we cannot expect. Dlana reveals in these pages the amazing revelations she had during this journey that gave her a renewed faith in God and a new understanding of her relationship not only with her sister but with the Universe at large.

If you don’t believe that miracles can happen, you need to read this book. What qualifies as a miracle in these pages may not actually be what you expect, but all the same, Dlana knows there’s no explanation other than some supernatural force was trying to communicate with her. When we listen to whispers, when we are open to their communication, miracles can happen in our lives.

A companion book, A Web of Lies: A Day Made in Hell, is in the works, which will provide more detail on the evidence and investigation of Gina Hall’s murder. In the meantime, she reads The Miracle Journey and discovers that peace and healing are always available and that forgiveness is possible for even the most heinous crimes.