Stephanie Landsem – Testimony

Stephanie Landsem

Stephanie Landsem is the author of The Well – this is her debut novel.

Like Nava, the Samaritan woman at the well in my novel, The Well, I struggled with post-partum depression. Although it was not severe, it was a difficult experience but one that I found increased my reliance on God and trust in Him.

After three children, I’d never experienced post-partum depression, and therefore the thought of it didn’t even cross my mind when my youngest child was born. When she was a few months old, we had the opportunity to move across the country to California for my husband’s job. I thought to myself, “Sure, I can do this, it will be an adventure!” Warm weather, the beach, what’s not to love?

But as we settled into our new home, I found myself in a strange place with no friends and four children under 7, all struggling to fit into their new environments. My husband was buried under new job responsibilities and long hours.

Pretty soon, I could hardly get out of bed in the morning. My joy was stolen – the joy in my new baby, my toddler, kindergartner and oldest daughter.  Nothing could reach through my haze of sadness and weariness. The beach, which I’ve always loved, held no allure. The sunny days seemed to stretch into endless hours when all I wanted to do was escape into sleep.

As often happens with depression, I didn’t know what was wrong with me and I didn’t want to talk about it. I was good at hiding it from everyone—my husband, the kids, my friends back home—but I knew something was wrong. It wasn’t long before I felt completely cut off and alone. On desperate day, I finally turned to God and laid it on him. I said, “You have to help me. I can’t do it myself.”

I wish I could say that I felt a peace flowing over me like Nava did in The Well, but it wasn’t like that. It was much more gradual. First, I was finally able to asked for help from those who loved me. I stopped pretending and started trusting. I saw a doctor, starting taking care of myself, and slowly—a little bit each day—began to enjoy life again.

The Well

I realized that God doesn’t expect us to do it all alone. He’s given us our family, our friends, and Himself – we just have to ask for help and it is there, waiting for us.

Biography

Stephanie writes historical fiction because she loves adventure in far-off times and places. In real life, she’s backpacked through Germany and Eastern Europe, studied in Salzburg, enjoyed gelato in Italy, rode a camel in Morocco, and floated in the salty Corinthian Sea. Her favorite cities are Rome, Berlin and Budapest. Her travels kindle her imagination, fuel her love of history and foreign culture, and introduce her to one-of-a-kind characters.

Stephanie is equally happy at home in Minnesota with her husband, four children, three fat cats, and a tortoise named Moe. When she’s not writing, she’s feeding the ravenous horde, volunteering at church and school, battling dandelions, and dreaming about her next adventure – whether it be in person or on the page.

You can find Stephanie online at:
stephanielandsem.com
www.facebook.com/stephanielandsem
https://twitter.com/#!/stephlandsem
http://pinterest.com/slandsem/

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