On Jan. 19, 2015, Joyce Smith received a frantic phone call.There had been an accident involving Smith’s 14-year-old son John.“They just pulled John out of the water and he doesn’t have a heartbeat,” the woman told her.The events of that night and the weeks that followed inspired Smith to co-write “The Impossible,” a book based on her family’s experience. Smith will be at Warrenton Community Church this Tuesday evening to share the story, and more, in person.John, Jocye Smith’s son, had spent the night at a friend’s house in Lake St. Louis. The boys had been walking on Lake Louise, about 150 feet from the shore, and were heading back in when the ice cracked under their feet. All three boys went in. Two got out. John had gone under and stayed under. By the time rescue crews pulled him out, he had been underwater for about 15 minutes.“He was dead at that point in time. He had no heartbeat,” Smith said.The next two weeks would be one of the most challenging for the family. Smith said despite the tragedy, she never lost her faith, and faith is what inspired her to co-write “The Impossible.”On that day back in 2015, John was rushed to SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital Lake Saint Louis, where life-saving efforts continued despite the expected outcome. When Joyce saw him, his body temperature was 88 degrees. He was cold to the touch and his skin was gray.The hospital continued CPR for 27 minutes.It had been more than an hour since he had a heartbeat. Doctors were about to declare him dead.Smith prayed, “Holy Spirit, please come and give me back my son,” she said.She and others called it a miracle when shortly after that, the nurse said she found a pulse.That was just the start of more miracles to come, Smith said.John was airlifted to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.He had no brain activity and he was in catastrophic organ failure, Smith recalled. Doctors did not expect him to survive the night, but he did, just as Smith predicted. She said she believed her son would come home.“The doctor said there were a lot of things that needed to happen for this to go well. We prayed and things would start to turn around,” Smith said.Smith said they would pray and miracle after miracle unfolded, everything the doctor said needed to happen.“It got to the point nurses would give us a list of the things to pray for,” she said.The right people were at the right place at the right time so that John could walk out of the hospital 16 days later, a healthy boy.Doctors call John’s survival an unexplained miracle or a medically verified resurrection, Smith said.John has very little memory of the day. Smith still makes prayer a part of her life.“There’s nothing impossible in your life that God can’t take care of,” Smith said.While the book is called “The Impossible,” a movie adaptation is called “Breakthrough.” It stars “This Is Us” actress Chrissy Metz as Joyce Smith.Smith, her son John, who turns 18 on May 23, and Jason Noble, the family’s pastor, will all visit Warrenton at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at Warrenton Community Church, 33355 N. Highway 47.Their appearance will be presented by the Scenic Regional Library in Warrenton.For reservations call 636-456-3321, stop by the library branch or register online.The Impossible