A New Life from the Ashes is my attempt to look honestly at the life I have lived—the memories, the people, the losses, the mistakes, and the experiences that shaped the person I became.
My story begins with childhood and family. I grew up in Connecticut in a large family, with memories that include affection, humor, difficult circumstances, family conflict, and painful loss. Those early experiences affected the way I looked at myself, my family, God, and the world around me.
As the years went on, my life took me through military service with the 101st Airborne, marriage and parenthood, ministry, Bible study, grief, and many other experiences that became part of my story.
Writing this book gave me an opportunity to bring those memories together and reflect on what they meant. I wanted to share the difficult parts as well as the ordinary and even humorous moments, because they are all part of the journey.
Most importantly, the book is about faith. Through the years, my understanding of God, Scripture, prayer, forgiveness, salvation, and hope became central to the way I understood my life.
A New Life from the Ashes is therefore more than a collection of memories. It is my personal testimony of looking back at the past while believing that a person can still seek God, find forgiveness, and begin again.