I am happy to announce that my book, There Is Life after Tragedy, has been named a FINALIST in the 2023 American Writing Awards (AWA) in the spirituality category.
I was entirely more surprised than not, even though my faith in what God has called and enabled me to do is still very much intact. The research was painstaking; the actual writing a total joy; and the publishing process, well, we might say, “I was like a dog staring at a new bowl,” to quote my former pastor—Pastor Norman Shuman.
Writing has been a big part of my life, having dreamed of writing a book as a child. It took half-a-lifetime for me to get serious about writing, and another twenty years to attempt to publish anything. I continue to desire to hold the pen of God, and even when I don’t have much to say, He always has plenty.
My book is a true story about my family’s tragedy that took place before I was born. My family was probably a lot like yours—good, hard-working, God-loving people, yet they faced a gut-wrenching event that turned their world upside down. The setting of the story was in the Texas Hill Country in 1946, following WWII. There are many similarities of my family’s tragedy to the current-day tragedies we see unfolding right before our eyes—mental illness, gun violence, and the lack of good solutions.
If you choose to take this journey with me through the pages of my book, you will hear what God has to say in “the times that try men’s souls;”1 when bad things happen to good people; and when believing in the goodness of God seems impossible. You will also learn how to find the courage to love again; how to deal with taunting words of defeat from the enemy of your soul; and how to reshape your legacy.
In case you are in need of a few stocking stuffers for Christmas, my book may be the perfect gift. It sells for $13.95 in paperback, $30 in hardback at Amazon, all major book retailers, and my publisher, WestBow Press. Search by book title or by Sarah Jane Kellogg and you will find it. You can also learn more about me and my book at www.sarahjanekellogg.com (which includes an excerpt from the book) or at my blog website at www.treasureinearthenvessels.net.
~ Sarah Jane
1Thomas Paine