I met Serena through an article she wrote for Christian
Writer’s Online Magazine, about writing through family illness.
Welcome to Overcoming
Through Time, Serena. Would you share
either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with
God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your
character’s has had to get past?
For me, as I wrote about in the Wellness column in the
on-line magazine you mentioned above, the most difficult thing I ever had to
get through was finding out that my husband had a rare form of bone cancer. He
was found to have 11 spinal fractures, only one month after I had signed my
first contract for a full-length inspirational novel. The cancer was so rare,
it took eleven months for the doctors to accurately diagnose it—during which time
my husband suffered incredible pain and needed my around-the-clock care. My
husband (who had always been my emotional and spiritual rock) was half out of
his head from heavy pain meds much of the time, and I was terrified of what the
future might hold. By the grace and mercy of our God, I still managed to write
two novels during that time.
God gave us a miracle in the form of a brilliant doctor who
accurately diagnosed the cancer and began to prescribe appropriate meds for my
husband. We spent three weeks this past Christmas in a research cancer
hospital, as a stem cell/bone marrow transplant was administered. My husband is
now in full remission, out of pain, and able to minister to our congregation
full-time again. The transplant doctor says that based on his body’s excellent
response, my husband has at least another ten to twenty good years ahead of
him. We are incredibly grateful for the prognosis.
I look at those two books now, and the kind reviews they’ve
received, and I give God all praise. Without Him holding my hand through that
dark time, not only would I not have been able to write, I would have probably lost
my mind. Now—I write my books with a song of praise in my heart, and a greater
appreciation for each pain-free normal day the Father gives us.
What is your favorite
bible verse and why?
Job 13:15 KJV “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”
That became a sort of rallying cry for us during that dark
time of my husband’s illness. We could not fathom the reason behind the pain,
or the multiple misdiagnoses. It would have been tempting to blame God for
allowing such pain—but Job’s cry during his time of suffering became our own.
Human suffering has caused so many to abandon their faith,
and turn their backs on God. The reasons behind what happened to my husband was
incomprehensible to us—especially since he had devoted his entire life to
serving the Lord. We had a choice to make—would we laud the Father only during
pleasant times and curse him when things got bad? Or would we continue to trust
him, even when we didn’t understand? We chose to cling to Him—and it made all
the difference.
(Serena, that was my verse during a time I was extremely ill
2009-2010 and wondered if I was going home to heaven. It is a verse to cling to. So glad your husband survived this terrible
ordeal. God still has plans for him!)
Disability friendliness:
Is this latest release available in audio format or do you
have any other works available on audio? At this moment, all I know for sure is
that Doubleday has brought Love Finds You
In Sugarcreek out in large print. Both books are available as e-books. I
don’t know about the audio yet.
What has been the most
important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?
I heard an author once say that she wasn’t trying to save
the world with her stories, she was simply trying to brighten someone’s
weekend. That is my goal, too. I try to create a safe place into which a reader
can retreat, with a sigh of relief. As I write, I always mentally write for a
weary nurse walking around with my paperback in her pocket, looking forward to
the respite of losing herself in a different world for a few minutes during her
hurried lunch. I hope the book will take her on an adventure that will end in
an uplifting of her spirits, a greater appreciation of our Lord, and hope for
the future.
As you researched
your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?
As I researched the Amish, I was invited into a
grandmother’s daadi-haus. It was a
small, fully functional home that was attached by a short walkway to her
daughter and son-in-law’s farmhouse. This is the norm for Amish families. The
grandfather and grandmother eventually sell their larger home to a son or
daughter, and move into the attached daadi-haus.
The grandparents get an income from the sale of their home. They get to
continue to be a part of their family’s life. They spend time teaching the
wisdom they’ve gained to their grandchildren. The grandfather continues to help
out around the farm as long as he is able, and the grandmother helps with
canning and gardening as long as she is able. This is their beautiful answer to
a retirement home. I was touched and impressed with the contentment and
happiness I saw in their eyes because of it.
In this latest work,
do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence
through reading about a disorder or situation?
In the book, my heroine's southern-born husband comes home from the Civil War a defeated, bitter man. His hatred for the north is so great that he turns his anger upon his northern-born wife, Katie, and begins to routinely abuse both her and her orphaned little brother. Katie keeps hoping he'll change, but finally realizing that if they don't get away he'll kill them--Katie and her little brother run for their lives. Even though she has no idea where to go or how to support herself when she gets there.
I have known too many women who endured physical abuse--both to themselves and their children--because they were more afraid of walking into the unknown than they were of their abusive husbands and boyfriends. I wanted to portray a woman who gathers her courage to save herself and the child she loves.
I used to work as a court reporter in Detroit, Michigan. There was one wise, woman judge I greatly admired. I heard her once admonish a woman who had been allowing her husband to abuse her and her two children. She said she was too afraid to leave. The judge said, "You are a mother. Your job is to protect your children. You don't have the luxury of fear. You don't wait around hoping that man won't pound on you again. You put one child under one arm, the other child under the other arm. And you don't walk, you RUN out that door."
Therefore, my favorite line in the entire book is at the end of the first chapter when Katie climbs upon that good, fast horse and says, "Let's ride, little brother!"
Katie takes what little faith and courage she can muster, walks into an unknown future, and begins to grow both physically and emotionally as she allows God to create a new path for her and her little brother.
(CFP: Sounds like this book is about second chances, new beginnings, and the chance for God to put things aright, too.)
Thank you Serena for sharing with our readers. I remember praying for you during that difficult time and when I read your story I had been so touched it brought tears to my eyes. God bless and keep you and your dear husband!
Thanks for having me!
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