I am sitting here in quiet awe, as I have been given the confirmation that I am a published author! One of my biggest dreams has finally come to fruition.

Recently, I have been busy writing my chapter, my contribution to a collaborative book that is now ready to be read by one and all! It almost doesn’t seem real; someone might need to pinch me…

The book we wrote may have started out as a writing project, yet somewhere along the way, it became a journey. Our journey asked us to look inward, dig deep, be honest, and most importantly, be vulnerable. Looking within and trusting that our words were worthy to be shared as well as heard. That our words may find their way to the person who needed them the most. That our words could help ease the pain and bring comfort to a struggling soul.

Along the way, as I shared the deepest of my scars, the foundation of misery that once was my life, I found something unexpected and wonderful. I found someone just as endeared to this process, just as willing to share their own brokenness on a more intimate level with me. We shared/edited each other’s work as we walked through this experience for the first time. Holding close to the fragile and weighted part of the process. We became one another’s cheerleader, pre-editor, and ultimately new and dear friend. We became a physical manifestation of the hope we were writing about. I am so grateful for the new and lifelong friendship I have with this woman.

For the both of us, this collaboration was more than putting our story on the page; it was revisiting those dark and difficult moments that brought us to where we are. The make-or-break moments, that at the time, were mostly difficult and broken, but are some of the core pieces of what brought us here today. Understanding that we no longer needed to ignore or avoid, because the hope that did finally get us through was now what would connect us in a way neither of us could have imagined.

So this book became much more than a collection of chapters of these women’s stories; it became a testament to what can happen when we choose honesty, healing, and, of course, hope. It is the sweet and gentle reminder of hope found, the hope we may have barely clung to at the time. Now, the hope that places us on a path that continues to reveal the most wonderful things. For me, it’s a dream come true, an unexpected friendship, and the privilege to share what hope and God have done for me.

Within the pages, we each share a journey—one that stretched us to the breaking point and healed us when it didn’t seem possible, asking us to be braver than we ever believed we could be. And the most beautiful part is we didn’t have to do it alone. I can’t wait to see how God uses our Hope Stories to heal the broken hearts and souls that pick up the pages and read them.

Please check out all of our stories, stories of overcoming the sometimes impossible through hope and healing. Amazon link: https://a.co/d/033ZkhHF