Revisiting Old Friends

Much of what I write these days is about revisiting old places, spaces, narratives, and experiences. Some days it feels like visiting an old friend; other days, like stepping into a bad dream. Through writing about both the light and the dark, I have awakened new joys, and put to sleep some of the demons of my childhood and more recent past.

It would be only natural that I would revisit a past where Seth & Alyssa Buchanan, Greg Wallace, and Katherine Middlebrook spent hours and hours with me. They were the characters in my first novel, Out of Breath, a psychological fiction novel about addiction, the surf culture, recovery, child loss, compassion fatigue, forgiveness, and redemption.

I missed them. I wanted to hear from them. And so I recently read Out of Breath, cover to cover, for the first time in nearly a decade. Each character stepped back into my mind and heart—becoming alive once more—and I was filled with a mixture of joy and melancholy, as if I’d forgotten to keep in touch with dear friends. I cried, I laughed, I felt anxious…it was, well, a very surreal step into the past.

Because I received such touching feedback from readers, and welcomed the success that Out of Breath held as an eBook back in 2011 and 2012 as best-selling psychological thriller, I decided to make Out of Breath available as a paperback on Amazon. With some help of two talented and trusted friends, we polished the inside and outside, and gave it a fresh look, and it is now available as a paperback on Amazon!

My hope is that Out of Breath will continue to reach those affected by child loss, the grip of addiction, and those who are in need of grace. Like the characters in my novel, I have been the recipient of much undeserved grace, and have stepped from the web of addiction and into the open arms of recovery. I suppose that is why re-reading Out of Breath was like visiting old friends…I spent time with those parts of myself that were broken, and have healed from grace, growth, and recovery.

If you have never read Out of Breath, I encourage you to. If you have, please recommend it to a friend and give it an honest review on Amazon! If someone you know is struggling with addiction or is coping with the grief of child loss, Out of Breath may speak to their wounds and struggles.

Mostly, I want to say thank you to all of my friends, family, and readers who steadily encourage me to write, and remind me that there is abundant grace in this beautiful life.