Why did you write this book?
Mostly because I had a story I wanted to tell and characters I wanted to write about. Essentially, I had a movie in my mind that I wanted to get on paper.
However, the book is informed by my experience as a bishop. In that calling, I have seen people who carried terrible burdens healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. So, while this story is fictional, I believe it is possible. Everything in the book is based on analogous experiences I have seen in real life: sick people made well, pornography addictions overcome, bitter people softened, and burned-out spirits rekindled through the Atonement. And, I have seen this happen as regular people quietly participated in what were apparently trivial, routine programs of the Church--like road shows.
The thematic foundation for the book is found in Isaiah 61: 1-3. Verse 1 is the verse that the Savior read on the synagogue on the day he began his public ministry, and the whole thing is a beautiful explication of what the Messiah and His Atonement can do.
I wanted to be realistic, but I also wanted to be optimistic. I have tried to write about the problems the characters face realistically. One of the things I'm happiest about is that an LDS counselor who works with depression and pornography addiction read the manuscript and felt that the portrayals were very realistic (in fact, she worked out a deal with my publisher to furnish the manuscript to her patients.) At the same time, I have tried to be restrained in describing the struggles, especially with pornography and depression. I’ve tried to show people struggling with these issues without slapping the reader in the face or wallowing in ugliness--and I've tried to show that there is always hope.
But mostly I wanted to tell a story about characters I was interested in and felt deeply about.
The prologue of the book introduces the characters and the problems they are struggling with.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read it here.
However, the book is informed by my experience as a bishop. In that calling, I have seen people who carried terrible burdens healed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. So, while this story is fictional, I believe it is possible. Everything in the book is based on analogous experiences I have seen in real life: sick people made well, pornography addictions overcome, bitter people softened, and burned-out spirits rekindled through the Atonement. And, I have seen this happen as regular people quietly participated in what were apparently trivial, routine programs of the Church--like road shows.
The thematic foundation for the book is found in Isaiah 61: 1-3. Verse 1 is the verse that the Savior read on the synagogue on the day he began his public ministry, and the whole thing is a beautiful explication of what the Messiah and His Atonement can do.
I wanted to be realistic, but I also wanted to be optimistic. I have tried to write about the problems the characters face realistically. One of the things I'm happiest about is that an LDS counselor who works with depression and pornography addiction read the manuscript and felt that the portrayals were very realistic (in fact, she worked out a deal with my publisher to furnish the manuscript to her patients.) At the same time, I have tried to be restrained in describing the struggles, especially with pornography and depression. I’ve tried to show people struggling with these issues without slapping the reader in the face or wallowing in ugliness--and I've tried to show that there is always hope.
But mostly I wanted to tell a story about characters I was interested in and felt deeply about.
The prologue of the book introduces the characters and the problems they are struggling with.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read it here.