Undefeated: Stories of Survival, Resilience and Relevance. Relevant Life Church. Salem, OR.

With every path, there comes a choice.

“I want my attorney. And if I can’t talk to an attorney, let me talk to my wife!” Alcohol pumped through the veins of the corrections officer. Todd had never wanted to be like his father — until he reached for the bottle and found himself at rock bottom.

Randy and Cheryl had a destructive addiction that left them desperate and homeless. Just when they thought they were free to live out their dreams, their lives were literally “flooded” with change.

There was nowhere for Annie to turn. The abuse she had endured since childhood was still fresh in her mind. Her mom and dad didn’t love her like they used to. Her marriages had fallen to
pieces. Would she ever find true love?

Enter into these real stories and more from Salem, Oregon, and find relevance for your life. In the midst of their journeys, will they give up? Or will they reach the summit and earn the
right to be declared … UNDEFEATED.

Beautifully Wrecked: Lives Altered By an Unexpected Collision. Urban Church. San Diego, CA.

These San Diego people lived in the secret shadows of their own wrecked lives …

First speed, then cocaine, then meth. Now single and pregnant — unloved and unlovable Katie, a hopeless addict, couldn’t wreck her life any more than this. Or could she?

The San Diego streets sucked Marco in like fumes to a crack pipe. In and out of juvie, this violent gang member turned felon — assault with a deadly weapon — kicked his crime sprees into high gear. A drug dealer addicted to meth, he was proud his gang chose him to splatter fear at rival gang hangouts with drive-by bullets. Even when slammed with a 10-year prison term with a pregnant wife at home, Marco refused to change course …

For almost a week, young Clarissa had planned her suicide. The pills were stashed safely at home in the medicine cabinet, waiting for their big moment … every remaining minute that she lived seemed tragically epic in some way. She ticked off each event as her last. Her last homework assignment. Her last bedtime. Her last breakfast. Her eating disorder ate her insides, and she could not crawl out of the wreckage of her failed life.

Seven true riveting stories of people in San Diego. Seven lives, each careening toward a disastrous, tragic end …

Until beautifully altered by an unexpected collision.

High Seas: Rescued from the Deep in Petersburg, Alaska. Lighthouse Assembly of God. Petersburg, AK.

Anyone familiar with the mighty forces of the High Seas knows that it doesn’t take a tsunami to highlight the stormy changes in the ocean waves. Many times the lives of those who dwell along those shores reflect the violence of inner forces showing the same kinds of stormy up and down changes.

Carl raised the gray pistol to his head. He closed his eyes and braced for the impact, hoping he would feel it for just a second, and then opened his eyes. There was a sound, somebody calling his name ― but then again, it wasn’t a voice at all that he heard. It was kind of like a breath, just one breath. Still he understood it perfectly …

Collapsing on the floor of her bedroom, Nancy gasped for breath. Her shaking hands grasped the carpet, bands of fear squeezing the air from her chest. Her heart pounded in her ears. It was her first panic attack. But it definitely wasn’t her last …

Tony was born with an eye disorder and was adopted by a single mother even with all the accompanying labels placed on him: He had a learning disability. He was emotionally disabled. Tony found himself in a holding cell at the police station and came face-to-face with an awful truth: He needed help. And the help he needed, no one could give …

Come ride the waves of these true-life stories of real people who have weathered storms and have found hope and refuge in High Seas: Rescued from the Deep in Petersburg, Alaska.

Change of Course. Harbor Life. Gig Harbor, WA.

Real life is tough to navigate. Often our pasts haunt us, and our present overwhelms us. We are desperate to change our life’s course if only we had a compass to point us in the right direction. Meet eight real people from Gig Harbor with real problems who turned the corner to a better life.

· As a youth, Scott experienced an unspeakable trauma that would alter the course of his life. His undeserved shame weighed heavy on his marriage as his wife, Nicole, tried desperately to save him from himself. Could Nicole steer her marriage in a U-turn, or should she leave her broken husband to preserve her own sanity?

· “Stop! Stop!” bystanders shouted, pounding on the school bus and waving frantically to the driver as he continued in reverse. The teenager felt the air press out of her lungs as the bus crushed her into her mother’s car, changing the course of her life forever.

· Kate’s grandfather molested her throughout her childhood. How could Mom let this happen?
The memories haunted her into adulthood. Bitterness festered and her health careened downhill. Kate’s fight to live was rivaled by her fight to forgive – could she gain victory over either?

These real people from Gig Harbor, Washington, will encourage you, inspire you and make you believe that authentic life change is actually possible — all it requires is a change of course.

Journeys. Grace Christian Center. College Place, WA.

Life for many of us is a series of journeys, like the ones in these real stories from Walla Walla, Washington. We find ourselves restless and move on from one place to the next, or even from one relationship to the next, looking for something we have lost or something we never had from the beginning …

Gentry’s father was a drug dealer, and his mother was addicted herself. He grew up in the ghetto, where he and his brother practically raised themselves. Gentry became an accomplished thief, a father and an Army recruit. Then depression struck him like a blast from a hot furnace, and one night he decided to end it all. But something more powerful than speech compelled him to set the gun down …

Lisa had never been able to please her stepfather. She longed for love and approval, but seemed to attract only the wrong kind, leaving her more depressed, lonely and out of touch than ever. She couldn’t fathom that anyone could love her just as she was, and she had a hard time making friends. Then in less than a year, her two best friends died in car wrecks. Lisa tried drugs and overeating and tried to end her own life more than once. Then someone who hardly knew her began to care for her, and she became able to put a smile in her heart where there was
once sadness …

Peggi was boy crazy from the second grade. When she found herself pregnant after “parking” the night of her high school junior prom, she considered having an abortion, but instead chose to
have her baby adopted. She delivered a healthy baby girl, whom she never saw, and she carried the sense of loss for nearly 30 years. Then one day a thick brown envelope from a lawyer arrived in her mailbox …

One of the great pleasures of traveling is to have companions headed for the same destination who can enjoy the trip with us ― so come along, and let these eloquent storytellers serve as your tour guides as you travel with them from right here in Walla Walla along the many roads of their Journeys.

Bound to be Free. Faith Assembly. Lacey, WA.

They were bound.

Bound by addictions to drugs, alcohol and food. Bound by life-threatening diseases. By rejection, shame and the perilous urge to commit suicide.

“Late last night, the suspect led the police on a high-speed chase. The suspect has been shot, but no further information has been released.” She watched the news report in horror, knowing they were talking about her bipolar son.

She was fat. No doubt about it, she was very fat. So she lost 60 pounds one year in high school. So many compliments — they felt so good! No reason for anyone to know her secret …

His violence was out of control. A furious drunken rage toward the mother of his three children landed him cold, hard prison time. A new wife, three more beautiful children, another chance. Drunken suspicions … how could he ever tear free from the bonds of alcoholism?

Seven riveting, true stories of people in Lacey, Washington. Desperate attempts against the tightly cinched ropes that shackle its slaves.

How will they ever find a way to break free?

Unmasked. Upper Room Christian Fellowship. Magnolia, TX.

They wore masks.

Beneath smiles, feigned strength and revelry lurked dangerous lies, lustful thoughts and deceit. Beneath a veneer of success lie victims of addictions, suicidal thoughts, marital problems and sexual abuse.

He was disillusioned. He worked the most violent Ward in the city as a cop. His wife jilted him for another lover. He was tired of wearing his good-guy mask. Perhaps it’s time to leave this dung heap called earth for good, he thought. And planned his suicide carefully.

Hiding behind a mask of addiction, he took a job five hours away from his wife and kids. “This is what you wanted to see.” Her voice was silky as she clicked on the lights before slowly opening the lid of the trunk.

She hid her secret habit from her parents, a habit she’d been clinging to for years. It all started when she typed “N-A-K-E-D M-E-N” into the search engine one day and up popped a whole new world. At the time, she was less than 9 years old.

Some wear their masks proudly — at first. Then the conflicting emotions begin wearing them down. Like the young Navy SEAL who cannot escape his own self-destructive violent behavior or the man involved in a successful family business and the tangled web of dysfunction. Or the teens whose masks fixed tightly in the wake of a parent’s death only deliver confusion.

Seven stories, nine people “unmasked.” How will the “real people” cope when their true selves are outed?

The Journey Continues. Palestine Church. Palestine, TX.

The Journey Continues in Palestine, Texas, in this second volume of stories about the journey from despair and loneliness to hope and fulfillment.

Frankie lived from an early age with the nightmare of a violent, abusive stepfather. Things got so bad for him that he seriously considered killing himself. When Frankie was 12, his older brother died in a car wreck ― and when he was 16, Frankie nearly died in a car wreck of his own. Yet he was able to get up and walk away from the destruction, and find healing …

Yolanda’s father was a pimp who regularly beat her mother, and gang violence was a way of life for her. So Yolanda began using drugs at 13, spent some time in jail, and found herself in a destructive relationship with a pimp. When she saw what was happening, she cut off contact with him, but then found herself torn between two paths from which to choose. Soon she began to enjoy a new sense of confidence on her own …

Life seemed wonderful for Lisa, whose husband was a successful defense attorney for the city and a popular leader in the community. But then he developed a condition that caused him extreme pain, beyond what the medications could touch. When he decided he just couldn’t take it any more, Lisa had to find the steady support she needed to carry on …

Kym spent more than 20 years on a project she took on herself ― the attempt to reform an abusive, addicted, erratic husband ― to the point where she began to lose sight of what really mattered. But tThe project seemed doomed to failure, until she realized the joy she had that would become her strength throughout the years …

So come join seven more of your inspiring neighbors in East Texas as The Journey Continues.

The Path Back Home. Siletz Gospel Tabernacle. Siletz, OR.

Natives and settlers alike in the beautiful coastal regions of Oregon find fulfillment in exploration, not just of the natural environment, but of the meaning life holds for them as well.

When he was 5 years old, Cameron fell about 30 feet from a tree and injured his head. He survived and grew to be an adult with children of his own, and then one Fourth of July the hospital phoned him with the news that his daughter had been in a serious car accident and was fighting for her life. Now he knew how his parents had felt …

Pam is a member of the Siletz tribal group in the coastal area of Oregon. As a single mom with five children to support, she let alcohol numb her pain and anxiety, until slamming into a parked vehicle and her first DUI made her fully awake and aware of what she had become. Suddenly, she was spurred to change …

One afternoon in the fifth grade, Vance read a magazine advertisement that promised him “money, fame and power” ― through witchcraft. When he was in the sixth grade, he watched his grandmother die in a car accident. In high school, he began binge drinking until he threw up. When his father died in a freak accident at work, Vance was amazed to find the comfort and peace he needed to hold his family together and even to discover his own sense of direction …

From a very young age as a Siletz Indian, Reggie found himself struggling with the need to fight the “Indian Devil” that had invaded his mind and given him nightmares. To find the answer and return to the path he needed to be on, alcohol was Reggie’s “cure all” ― which was no cure at all. It took a brush with prison to bring him to the point where he knew he needed help to learn how to fight the real battle …

All these residents of coastal Oregon had one thing in common: they ran into the many troubles life brings and found themselves searching for The Path Back Home.

Come walk with them down that path as you read of their adventures and of the encouragements
each of them found along the path.

Resound: Seven Stories, One Sound. Resound Church. Hillsboro, OR.

How could she ever forgive herself? How could God ever forgive her? It was a dreadful mistake that cost her dearly; her panic attacks stifled her very existence …

Her life was perfect. She married the most handsome, doting, can-do kind of guy. His work took them to the dazzling high life in New York City where he wined and dined her in the best restaurants as his dream-come-true million-dollar deals got bigger and bigger. Perfect, until the day she learned he was hiding behind more than one devastating secret …

His family was dysfunctional. His dad, a fallen pastor, attempted to murder his mother, when a neighbor boy walked in and scared him away, saving her life. His mom, quirky but full of faith, showed him that prayer brings provision in the most unexpected ways. Yet, how would her four boys ever know stability with multiple marriages and constant moves?

After Thomas’ dad became addicted to painkillers and abandoned his family, his mother married a man who got weirder by the week. Embroiled in conspiracy theories, exposing Satanism, mind control and government conspiracies, this well-known author’s face suddenly appeared on the news after blowing up a porn shop. How would Thomas ever overcome the deep pain and questions about God that stabbed at his heart every day?

Seven stories, one sound.

Resounding with unconditional love, miraculous physical and emotional healing and faithfulness beyond human imagination, these stories reverberate with life, hope and powerful transformation in the most desperate and devastating circumstances.

Got Friends? Friends Community Church. Fairbanks, AK.

Friends bring the warmth, light and inspiration to conquer every challenge life can offer. And in the dark arctic night of Fairbanks, Alaska, friends are definitely not a luxury.

Drug dealer Corey never imagined his years-long love affair with heroin and meth would end in a police standoff outside his parents’ front door. Removed from his family and separated from his drugs by officers pointing fingers and flashing guns, Corey was imprisoned, forgotten and alone … until a friend released him from his personal prison and walked with him into a life of freedom.

Local business owner Rocky Pavey was thrilled to know his wife’s brain surgery had saved her life, but as he held her frail, lifeless hand and stared into blank, unknowing eyes, he wondered if that same operation had destroyed the woman he once knew. As he sat by her hospital bed, day after day, he sought the aid of the only friend he knew could help …

Delta Junction native Daniel had reached the end of his self-sufficient Alaskan ways. Caught up in a destructive whirlwind of pot farming and porn collecting, his boss fired him hours after discovering pornography … on all 10 of the company computers he managed. Left without a job, a dime or a reputation, Daniel and his heartbroken wife found themselves hopeless … until a friend intervened, renewing their marriage and refocusing his life.

Some of these Alaskans leaned on friendship through catastrophe, others depended on friendship in disappointment. All of them were saved by solid friends in hard times.

Do you feel abandoned? Are you facing life’s obstacles alone? Hardship doesn’t have to destroy when you’ve got friends to lift you up. You'll be a better friend and you'll cherish the ones you have as you read these stories of triumph.

Got Friends?

There is Hope. Church on the Rock. Battle Ground, WA.

Hope shatters despair, it quickens our step and energizes our ventures. It’s the fresh air that invigorates and readies us for life’s challenges. Right here in Southern Washington, you’ve got neighbors who’ve found hope, and it’s changed their lives.

Read of Joel who received word that his dear friend had just committed suicide. Through the suffocating darkness, Joel found the ray of hope that drove him to begin traveling the world to help the hurting and broken masses.

Teresa longed for something that would erase the pain — one more line of cocaine seemed to be the obvious answer, but that lie led her to an overdose. With her skin burning in scathing pain, she leaped into a lake only to nearly drown. Learn how, after four abortions, Teresa found hope that brought her out of the loneliness and into freedom.

Shawnie struggled with her sexual identity. The crushing pressure to be beautiful seemed utterly beyond her. After suffering abuse as a child, she thought the arms of another woman would bring her the true acceptance she craved. It didn’t. Her loneliness only increased as she felt deceived and lied to … until she found the one person who brought hope into a rejected heart.

Your heart will soar as you read these seven inspiring stories from your neighbors right here in Clark County. Your horizon will brighten, and you’ll find the courage to move into a better day because — there is hope

Warriors of Transformation. Alaska Prison System. Alaska.

Drug dealers and addicts, murderers, hopeless alcoholics and a prostitution ring leader …

• With 45 arrests and 15 years of hard time, this Yup’ik native can’t get his drinking and drugging under control until he is invited into a community within the prison that changes his life.
• A crazy, violent woman nick-named “Purple” dominates the streets, running a high-class prostitution ring, using and dealing drugs; she’s not afraid to plunge her knife into those who cross her wrong, until one day …
• A heroin addict and clever dealer who evades arrest for years is finally caught, imprisoned … and falls in love with his female tutor; he takes a completely unexpected turn and the lives of others are changed in his wake.
• A man called to preach as a child decides to stop running from God. But after a male guest suddenly pulls out a gun threatening his family members’ lives, Javis lands himself in a cold, hard jail cell for years – the best thing that ever happened to him.

Seven prisoners. Seven men and women behind the barbed wire surrounding prisons across Alaska. But each finds a way to beat the odds and discover a life of purpose and joy. One of these miraculously emerges as the founder of a new community of prisoners that is rocking the system called the Transformational Living Community (TLC). Graduates from this new way of living within the Alaska prison system are only 33 percent likely to reoffend within three years of release, while the national rates hover at 66 percent.

Those warriors who tell their stories of the rough road to transformation are living proof.

Valley of the Believers. New Harvest Assembly. Pe Ell, WA.

Valley of the Believers is an inside look into a community rich with rugged commercial loggers, hardworking waitresses, parents, educators and students nestled in the mountains of the Chehalis River headwaters.

Through the stories of several people who live here, you will experience their candidly-told troubles and triumphs over alchoholism, drugs, divorce, blending step families, the terrors of rape and molestation. You will see the mercy of an unseen hand in miraculous recoveries from deadly accidents.

Before Pe Ell was founded in March, 1906, the story of its families was being meticulously crafted; a story of strong logging families hewn from “God’s Country.”

Out of the Shadows. Eagles Nest Christian Fellowship. Seward, AK.

Seward, Alaska. Isolation, loneliness, shadows. A community of refuge for many whose stories describe the long northern winter nights of desperation and anguish.

Finally, the dawn breaks, and the light begins to shine Out Of the Shadows to bring hope into the lives of these storytellers.

Come and share in the lives of your Seward neighbors through this extraordinary collection of true stories. Though their lives and their stories vary, these real people have one theme in common: transforming change that empowers them to leave the shadows behind and enter the fullness of daylight, with hope and purpose. Join their journey ― you’ll be glad you did!

Lost. Church on the Rock. Wasilla, AK.

Sometimes things are lost because we are careless with them, never bothering to put them back where they belong. At other times, precious things are stolen, and no matter how hard you try and how tirelessly you search they are never to be found again. Still yet, there are times we chase a whisper of truth we’ve never held, knowing it’s out there somewhere. The hope of discovery, the promise of finding something worth the effort, keeps us on our journey of seeking, chasing, searching for something permanent and permanently ours.

Drugged and beaten, Caroline struggles to remain lucid enough to escape her captor. Deep in the core of her being, she knows there lies freedom; freedom from her captor, freedom from the drugs, freedom from herself. Can she reach it in time?

It’s an odd thing to watch a man die. War inflicts wounds so deep that young men come back jaded, tormented and alone. Daniel fought for his country. Now, he’s fighting for his own peace of mind. The nightmares won’t stop. The memories become his closest confidant. The Marines didn’t prepare him for the enemy within, the one without borders.

Alone in the back woods of Alaska, making meth for those eagerly waiting, Brad is paranoid but hopeful of the money soon to rain on his arid existence. His ears are filled with the pounding of his anxious heart. In a few short months, the beats will be matched by police officers’ fists on his front door. This is the drum beat, the cadence of his journey toward truth. Beats like footsteps inch closer to a peace he’s never known.

LOST. What if the one you’ve lost is you? What if you have no idea where to begin the search? Read the dynamic stories of heroes faced with the enormity of this journey; the stories of those who’ve FOUND what they’re looking for, what we’re all looking for. FREEDOM.

Time for a Change. Light on the Corner Church. Montrose, CA.

How many times a day do you ask how someone is doing? How often do you hear someone ask you how you’re doing, and you answer it with very little thought? How often do you stop and think how things are really going for you? How do you know when it’s Time for a Change in your life?

The true stories in this book have a wide variety of answers to these questions — a lot of troubles that have made the storytellers aware of their need for a change: brushes with death. Cancer. Addictions. Broken relationships. Death of relatives. Confinement in a mental institution. Abandonment. The run-around of the foster system. The nightmare of war. Unemployment. Abortion. A close friend’s suicide. Anorexia and bulimia. These are stories filled with many twists and turns and plenty of heartaches.

Through the intensity of these twists and turns, each of these storytellers has come to a personal Time for a Change. Read the book and see what the change has meant for these people — and then get ready to meet them, because some of them are your neighbors at Light on the Corner Church in Montrose, California!

Sink or Swim: Real Life Stories on the Clearwater. The Life Center. Kamiah, ID.

Ed Jacoby aspired to very little. Perpetuating wild pranks was always more fun than studying.

During his freshman year at the University of Idaho, he partied his grade point average down to 1.0. Flunking out, he took a job at a tire and rubber company, ended up in a body cast, lost his job – and drowned his misery in alcohol.

Ed was sinking fast.

Then his new wife, Jean, threw him a life buoy. “What do you really want to do?” she asked.

He hesitated, remembering a dream. “Coach.”

“Then, let’s make you a coach.”

His father-in-law said, “If you’re going to coach, I expect you to be a very good one — an Olympic coach.”

Like that’s ever gonna happen, Ed thought.

The raging waters, with turbulent twists, take the Jacobys to a place beyond anyone’s craziest imaginations.

***

Seven stories, nine “swimmers” gasping for air in voracious life-sucking whirlpools. They crash against jagged rocks — cheap sex, deaths of loved ones, abandonment, suicide attempts, drug additions, impending long prison terms, killers chasing them — and each search the shoreline for a rescue team. Will they find a lifeline? Will they sink — or swim?

Unmatched Love. Cornerstone Church. Aberdeen, WA.

Unwelcomed images can hijack a mind, abducting any hope of peace or rest. As humans get older, they often struggle to remember, learning humility from their less-than-perfect memories. However, the events of life can unexpectedly shatter our resolve, and the shards that splinter our memory forever pierce our thoughts. Is there any hope of forgetting the traumas, escaping the regrets, overcoming the entanglements of our pasts? The true stories in this book present compelling evidence that hope really is possible regardless of the past.

Bittersweet. He was finally found, at least his remains. A mother struggles as she identifies the man stretched out before her, eyes closed. He bears a melancholy resemblance to the sleeping child she held in her arms just 19 years before. Which image would she carry with her from now on?

Two lovers whisper, exchanging glances, in a dimly lit bar. Her discretion couldn’t keep her unsuspecting husband from reading the adulterous writing on the wall. Would the memory of her face ever bring him more than a sense of misery and betrayal?

The irony of being able to see as the many blind children cascaded from the dilapidated school called Lindsey to action. Witnessing the blindness of the innocent and the cruelty of the powerful gave way to an urgency that would not relent.

These individuals and many more faced unimaginable hardship and remorse. However, no longer haunted by memories and nightmares, they have learned to set their minds on that which does not frighten, that which does not terrorize, that which does give rest. Within the pages of this book, you too can find this elusive peace of mind!

Real People, Real Impact: Our True Bottom Line. Church Extension Plan. Salem, OR.

The real people in the seven stories of Church Extension Plan's newest book are seared by the fiery trials of life, some of their own doing, some because of the cruelty of others’ misguided choices. In each case, God intervenes to reverse their destructive paths by using his people and the refuge of his places – churches.

For about 60 years, Church Extension Plan has financially partnered with churches to provide resources that bring wholeness and positive purpose into lives. It’s CEP’s bottom line. This unique book provides a glimpse inside.

Rescued. River of Life Church. Rusk, TX.

Vivid pictures of everything I had suffered replayed in my mind.”

“A lifetime of hurting people because of being hurt.”

“A strange Power to see into the future, to read minds.”

“Building a castle of acceptance from the rubble of rejection.”

“Our home was now a crime scene … a time of overwhelming guilt, grief and regrets.”

“We staggered under the weight of senseless death. Nobody had any strength left to give.”

“Death regularly visited the inmates. … I would never live to see the world outside the prison walls again.”

These and other dramas are really happening ­— to people in Rusk, Texas. This book gives you the stories of these dramas, told by storytellers who are your neighbors in this ordinary, small town.

But there is nothing ordinary about these stories. The details are all here, some shocking, some intense, some almost incredible. The intensity of the drama is very real and tangible as these storytellers work through issues that challenge their ability to go on with life, to find a life worth living.

All of them find a life that is worth living, as you will discover when you read the real-life adventures of those in East Texas who have been Rescued.

Strength for Today, Hope for Tomorrow. Living Hope. Madras, OR.

Haven’t we all been homeless? Oh, perhaps we had a warm house and food in our bellies, but at some point, hasn’t the unwelcomed sense of wandering, searching for a place to belong, crept into the window of everyone’s heart? Wanderers — really— all of us.

Oscar Weatherby was literally homeless by 13, traveling the United States with a circus, holed-up in a mountain cabin or being a dutiful roadie for traveling performers.

The ever-present gunfire created a tortuous reminder to Paul Kessler that he was nowhere near home, but soon he would find that home was just as dangerous as life in Iraq.

Julie’s 6-year-old feet struggled to follow her unstable mother through the dark, desolate streets. Her mom was looking for freedom from her mental agony, but Julie simply wanted her mommy.

How long are the winding roads, blanketed in night, seemingly leading nowhere? Has anyone found a way to navigate the terrain of despair? The eight wanderers in this book from Madras, Oregon, have traversed misery, anger, terror and addiction to successfully plot a course toward safety and peace. Travelers, maybe; homeless, never again.

Journey: Searching for Peace. Palestine Church. Palestine, TX.

Does your life ever feel to you like an endless cycle without meaning? Have you ever felt a curse of loneliness, depression, fear that makes it difficult to keep going? Do you feel abandoned, forgotten, rejected? Do you have the feeling that you are somehow worthless, “different,” on the outside looking in? Do you “just want the hurt to go away”? Would you describe yourself as “emotionally and spiritually bankrupt”?

Journey: Searching for Peace will give you the chance to listen to the voices of others in Palestine, Texas who have experienced many of these same feelings. There’s a young man with a hard heart whose nightmares become only too real as he finds himself imprisoned in the state penitentiary with “the worst criminals in Texas.” A soldier sits in his tent in Vietnam, struggling with “fear, loneliness and confusion.” A young woman struggles to drag herself out of bed, devastated by betrayal and unable to shake the feeling of being “different.” A strong policeman loses his wife, his home and his job overnight, and finds himself “crying to be saved from this hell of a life” that he had built for himself.

But each of the true stories in this book also contains the elements of healing from the past and hope for the future, because these storytellers have found a way out of their depression, a sense of value and worth that has chased away their nightmares and made life worth living again.

Find out for yourself what this is all about. Follow these stories of seven Palestinians as they move forward from despair and loneliness to hope and fulfillment, and find value and purpose — and plenty of reason to keep going.

Tilly's Song. Carol Welty Roper. Chugiak, AK.

Starting over in life is not a new reality to most of us. We all know at least someone who has been widowed by war, uprooted by catastrophic storms or has faced illness, divorce, loss of job…and the list is endless. How does a person learn to hope again when all hope seems to be gone?

Tilly knows. This young widow with her only living child is brought face to face with trouble not of her own making. Leaving the life they both know in Germany, together they embark on a journey to their starting over place, America.

How must they change to survive in this new land? What challenges disguised as adventures await both mother and child?

Travel along with Tilly on this journey to discover restored hope.

(Back cover text, Tilly's Song)

Redemption. Hermiston Christian Center. Hermiston, OR.

Webster defines "redemption" as deliverance, rescue or purchase of something already sold. In this edgy new book from Hermiston Christian Center, seven bold citizens of the town of Hermiston, Oregon, step out and share the stories of how each of them has been delivered, rescued and bought back at a price. Their lives, once torn apart by drugs, alcohol, abuse and guilt from decisions past, are now free, open and redeemed.

Open this book of riveting true life tales and meet face to face the one who redeemed them.

Hope Rising. King's Way Ministry Center. Eagle River, AK.

The circumstances of life, like the individual notes of a complicated sonata, work together to produce the melodies of our existence. The dissonance of wrong decisions or unimaginable abuse sings grief and shame into our wounded ears, which lingers long after the beautiful music has faded. As we shrink back from the clashing notes, is there any hope of song, of harmony, of eloquence?

Paul, a talented musician out of sync with his peers, struggles to find freedom from the homosexual feelings that have overshadowed his rising vocal career and still find a reason to sing.

Tired of the late night screaming matches, Connie cries out for a softer lullaby to sing her daughters to sleep.

Senior Master Sergeant Katherine Cooper, a world-renowned flutist, is startled to find that the notes of her life rarely play as flawlessly as the Beethoven flowing from her skilled fingers.

We are all musicians searching for harmony and song. The players in Hope Rising find the way to dance through life, measure by measure, and produce a magnificent score for their legacies, the soundtrack of truth and freedom.

Products of Grace. Harbor Life Church. Gig Harbor, WA.

Abandonment. Abuse. Accidental death. Addiction. Anger. Deception. Disappointment. Divorce. Fatal illness. Hatred. Heartbreak. Injustice. Murder. Poverty. Prison. Robbery. Sexual confusion. Temptation to suicide. Violence.

Sound familiar? Too close to home? Too much like reality? It’s all too easy to believe that these are the words used to tell the stories of people of today, people who may be your near neighbors.

But where will it end? Is there any hope, any healing? Is life an endless round of trouble, with no way out?

This book contains the stories of seven very real people who have experienced all the above troubles and more — and yet have found the reality of what happens “when faith and life connect,” a reality that has made them Products of Grace.

And now these same people tell their true life stories in new words, words like these: Acceptance. Beauty. Faith. Forgiveness. Freedom. Grace. Happiness. Healing. Hope. Love. Miracles. Poetry. Recovery. Release from anger. Solid ground. Successful marriage. Sweet land. Unconditional love. Victory. Don't miss their stories in this new book coming out Christmas 2008 in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Never Too Late. FreshStart Ministry, Church on the Rock. Wasilla, AK.

Knees buckle in astonishment. Words fail to reach the depth of the despair. When relentless hurt and shame beat against the shore of your resolve, what are you to do? Where are you to find safety? Never Too Late provides real life stories of people who have suffered great trials, struggled with unimaginable grief and became extraordinary victors.

His sister murdered by her husband, Stew is left to carry the growing weight of loss and grief until his strong shoulders sag under the enormous load.

As she silently dresses her deceased infant in the cold, sterile hospital room, Sarah wonders if her heart will ever be mended, her eyes ever dry.

Cari stares at her two small daughters, regretting the others she aborted, and wonders if she will ever feel clean, worth it, whole.

These stories and others like them provide hope for the hurting and give readers permission to dream of a better future. If life is a battlefield, this book is the biography of the wounded heroes. If you are currently under fire, put down your weapon and start reading. It's never too late for hope.

When Hope is Gone. University Bible Church. Pocatello, ID.

“On the night of May 28, 1998, they came for my father. We heard neither the drone of their four-wheel drive nor the thump of boots on our front porch. But in our normally quiet, upper-middle-class neighborhood, we felt their presence. People disappeared. Some survived unbelievable torture and eventually returned — broken and marred forever.”

In the first of seven stories of real people searching for hope in Pocatello, Idaho, Makena’s family was forced to flee persecution again and again from war-torn Ethiopia. Their last hope for freedom was seeking asylum in the United States, a place where they could worship God without fear of government reprisal.

For Pocatello resident Annette, “sorrow lined her haggard face, her dark eyes twin pools of pain” as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. Her endless pursuit for happiness in one failed relationship after another was filling her life with nothing but emptiness – until she discovered true hope in a relationship that transcended all the others.

Kelsey was a model student at Idaho State University, a chemistry major on track to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, quickly establishing herself as a top student in the department. She thought she had all the answers for her life until a friendly discussion between a Christian friend and a member of the Latter-day Saints church nagged her conscience and she began a relentless chase to find answers for her own life.

Their circumstances are widely diverse. But each of the seven people featured in this new book discovered hope in amazing ways — when they thought hope was gone.

Surviving the Storms. Abundant Life Christian Fellowship. Hoonah, AK.

Everyone experiences storms in his or her life. But not all know where to find protective shelter when they come.

The name of Hoonah is based on the Tlingit name Xunaa’, which translates “shelter from the north wind.” A shelter helps us to live through a storm. A shelter offers hope that we can withstand the next storm. A shelter doesn’t stop the storms from coming, but it helps us survive them and emerge stronger and more hopeful than ever before.

This book of real-life stories from Hoonah, Alaska, will inspire and encourage every reader that he, too, can overcome the challenges each storm brings -- and live to see the rainbow on the other side.

Real. Life Church. Salem, OR.

The dictionary defines the word "real" as "authentic, genuine." But these days, in the world of Photoshop, plastic surgery and digital editing, it's hard to distinguish between what's real and what's imaginary.

Perhaps that's why it is so refreshing to see real and vulnerable people in a naked, truthful light.

In Real, the real people from this real church in Salem, Oregon, expose their deepest secrets and their darkest pasts. They open up about histories of alcohol, abuse, divorce, suicide and mental illness and share life in the midst of each of these struggles in a real way. I am confident that their stories will not just relate to, but make a difference for real people struggling in these same ways for years to come.

Journey Toward Freedom. Freedom House Ministries. Portland, OR.

Over the last two years, I have read more than 100 stories about the hurts, habits and hangups of people who have been utterly transformed by a God who saves, redeems and heals. Many of those stories have addressed histories of drugs and alcohol and an addiction that breaks men to their very souls. In all those books, however, I have never read more powerful stories about the incredible grip of cocaine and Cuervo than I have in Journey Toward Freedom. The bold men who share their stories of addiction and abuse in this incredible book have journeyed through some of life's darkest corners and, with the help of Portland's Freedom House Ministries, come out on the other side in a place of love and light. Their stories are some of the most extreme I've ever read, and their transformations, some of the most amazing. You won't want to miss this Journey Toward Freedom.

Darkness at Dawn. Darrell and Sherri Beebe. Mossyrock, Washington.

(Partial excerpt from Darkness at Dawn)

"One doesn’t have to live very long to learn that life isn’t fair. We live in a world where people hurt people, and hurt people hurt people.

No doubt you have been hurt by what someone has said or done to you. It is not if we are going to get hurt by people; it's when. Sometimes the wrong choices of others only affect them. Other times, their wrong choices affect our lives, too. Forever.

When this happens, we have one of two choices to make: we can respond or we can react. Our family chose to respond and not to react. We refused to become victims to the past bad actions of others. We chose to become better and not bitter."

Join the Beebes, a missionary family who traveled to a distant tropical island to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, only to be attacked by three men who changed their lives, and their stories, forever.

Your perspective on life, love and forgiveness will never be the same.

Unbeatable. Laurie Frey. Cleveland, OH.

Laurie Frey had it all — a loving husband, a precious little boy, a great house, and a fabulous job in the entertainment industry. Life was good. But one devastating phone call turned her picture perfect life upside down.

At the age of 40, Laurie was diagnosed with Stage 3 invasive breast cancer. Suddenly the deadly disease that now threatened her life took center stage. In 365 short days, every piece of her world came crashing down around her. When her son was diagnosed with autism, her father had a heart attack, and her brother was sent to war in Iraq, Laurie’s physical, emotional and spiritual limits were put to the test. When she turned to her husband for strength and support, he began to pull away just when she needed him most.

There were only two lifelines left: laughter and faith. This is the true story of how one woman joked and prayed her way out of the ashes and discovered a new, richer life filled with deep connections and even deeper love. Take the journey with her and find out how we are all, in the end, unbeatable.

The Great Escape. Jesus the Messiah Church. Indianapolis, IN.

In the midst of the chaos and busyness we as Americans face every single day, sometimes we just yearn for a pause. A moment. A breather. An escape. We weave webs and dwell in those spun by others, and then lie in them until we feel trapped in a life so far from our intended paths that we wonder how this existence has even become our own.

The brave contributors in the book from this Indianapolis church have stared death in the face, dared to protect themselves in volatile situations, weathered storms of the unimaginable — repeated sexual and physical abuse, emotional abuse, abandonment, suicide of family members, prison and drug and alcohol abuse, just to name a few.

After some of the most difficult and heartwrenching adventures of their lives, these real people leapt from their traps, jumped from their webs, and made the greatest escape of their lives to a place that has since become their escape.

This page turner will inspire you, too, to join them and make the great escape.

Crossing the River: Real Stories of Real People. Valley River Assembly of God. Eugene, OR.

(Excerpt taken from Crossing the River)

Are you standing on the bank of the river watching the water rush by wondering how in the world you are going to get to the other side? Or have you already taken the plunge, and the overwhelming current is dragging you down; you are reaching out to grasp anything to save yourself — a rock, a piece of debris, a tree branch.

The amazing people whose stories appear in this book out of Eugene, Oregon, have struggled just like you, not knowing how to cross to the other side of the river. Their actions or their circumstances nearly dragged them to the bottom; but, somehow they were able to cling onto a very real solution and pull themselves up, wet, but alive on the opposite bank.

Their stories will inspire you to dive in head first and begin the swim of a lifetime.

The Road to Triumph. Radiant Springs Church. Crete, NE.

(Excerpt taken from Road to Triumph)

Years ago, people journeyed through the great state of Nebraska along the Platte River in hopes of finding a brighter future out West. Their journey was not easy and included many challenges with weather, sickness, hostile enemies and terrain. Some made it to their destination, others turned back and some simply did not survive the journey.

In the same way, life is a journey. Along that path are twists and turns, valleys and hills. We are often forced to deal with difficulties and hardships along the way. Some we see approaching in the distance and others surprise us from around the corner. We encounter these hardships for various reasons. Sometimes it is because of the choices we make. Sometimes life is just unfair. Bad things do happen to good people.

The stories in Road to Triumph are real stories about real people who have risen above health issues, addictions, abuse, death of a loved one and deep hurts. They have more than just survived; they have triumphed over insurmountable challenges. They have brushed off the dust of the past and are moving forward. These refreshing stories offer us hope and courage on our life journey.

The Path to Freedom. River of Life Church. Pocatello, ID.

In the United States, freedom is not a word we take lightly. Our forefathers founded our country on the idea of freedom -- of speech, of religion, of opinion. We celebrate freedom every July Fourth as we shoot fireworks into the nighttime sky and celebrate our independence with friends and loved ones.

How is it, then, that in a country where millions of people live in "freedom" that so many of us feel so caught in bondage? How is it that, though we know we are free to make our own choices and decisions, it is sometimes those very choices and decisions that lead us into our own confining prison?

The Path to Freedom shares the stories of seven amazing people who answer that very question -- who share how their own freedom of choice, and sometimes the freedom of choice given to others, actually confined and imprisoned them. Particularly vivid in my mind is the story of a licensed pharmacist who used his freedom of choice to steal drugs from his place of business for recreational use and, through a rehab center and a power much greater than himself, found himself freed of that addiction.

The path these real people in the heart of Pocatello, Idaho, choose will encourage you and inspire you to begin, one step at a time, on your own path to TRUE freedom.

Velocity: Moving at the Speed of Life. Church on the Rock. Wasilla, AK.

Your head is spinning with confusion; your mind is overflowing with questions that have no answers. Where is my life heading? Will I be able to avoid disaster? Is there anyone out there who I can trust with my heart?

Sometimes it seems that life is moving so rapidly that we will never get to a place where we can slow down and enjoy it. Sometimes we ask ourselves, what is contentment? Is it even real? We spend so much time just trying to hold onto the velocity of living life, we don’t even realize that what we need and desire is right in front of our faces.

These are the true stories of seven people whose lives caught up with them in ways they never would have imagined. You'll want to make the time to slow down yours to read this awesome book.

Though They Walk Through the Valley. Wasilla Assembly of God. Wasilla, AK.

Though they walk through the valley….

They are those you live next to, work with, call your family. They are neighbors who survived near-death experiences in tumultuous weather and in war. They are co-workers who faced abuse, divorce, loss of children and loss of parents, and they are family members who have walked past their dreams and callings. These people in the heart of southern Alaska have been in hopeless situations -- but the tide is turning.

In Wasilla, Alaska, though they have walked through the valley….they have found hope. This hope is sustaining. This hope is contagious. This hope is real.

A Reason for Hope. Christian Life Fellowship. Ontario, OR.

Sometimes life seems too much to handle. Premature deaths and dreadful addictions, bitter divorce and broken relationships, all lead to depression and anxiety that sometimes seems too much to bear.

But in the midst of darkness, there’s still hope. The incredible people in Ontario, Oregon, prove that there is. That there needs to be.

In A Reason for Hope, seven incredible storytellers humble themselves to share their most hateful memories and most hurtful moments. They open their pasts and their lives to others in order to offer the same hope they found in the midst of tragedy and trial.

Their message: hope is real. Hope is tangible. Hope is here.

Sufficient to Stand. Friends Community Church. Fairbanks, AK.

(Partial excerpt taken from Sufficient to Stand )

The promise of sufficiency is a powerful gift from God.

We can find ourselves in circumstances where we feel anything but sufficient to deal with the issue at hand. Certainly one of the most challenging of these is confronting addiction in any one of its many forms. Dr. Gerald May in Grace and Addiction calls these circumstances “attachments.” It is a particularly graphic term when we consider its origin in old French, meaning “being nailed to.” That is how it feels sometimes when we try unsuccessfully to rid ourselves of what Paul may have alluded to when he asked God to remove “the thorn from my flesh.” God’s answer was one of sufficiency, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Though God created us free to fall, he also created us "sufficient to stand" (John Milton, Paradise Lost). The stories of addiction, lust and loss that fill the pages of this book exemplify the falls; the real Fairbanksans who humbled themselves to share those falls prove that, with God's strength, man truly is sufficient to stand.

A View from the Ridge. Ridgeview Church. Valley Center, CA.

Hiking provides an incredible perspective on geography, and on life.

The view from the mountain is lofty; the world seems tiny, and there seems nothing left to conquer.

The view from the valley is disheartening; there’s so far to go and never enough time or stamina to make it there.

But the view from the ridge is perfect; there are mountains to climb and valleys to descend, neither without some energy and hard work, but from the ridge, both become totally manageable. Totally safe. Totally exciting.

The storytellers in A View from the Ridge live in that plane of existence. They’ve dwelled in deep valleys, and they’ve mounted tall mountains. But with a new stabilizer in their lives, they can now dwell on the ridge. There will be mountains to climb and valleys yet to cross, but living on the ridge provides the security and perspective they needed to climb out of the valleys that held them down for so long, and the confidence to climb the mountains they've yet to conquer. Their ridge experiences provide peace. Perspective. Passion. And a promise that they'll never descend the valleys alone again.

The Unchained. Evergreen Christian Center. Hillsboro, OR.

In a world filled with opportunities for addiction and obsession, it’s easy to become chained — to drugs, to alcohol, to work, to perfectionism. Society's high expectations often times even push us into compulsions we’re not made aware of until we’re so deeply gripped by them that there’s no escaping. We become chained, bound to a hurt, habit or hang-up that holds us back from the real joys in life.

But in Hillsboro, Oregon, shackles are shattering everywhere. In Hillsboro, people are being set free.

These incredible people didn’t just discover the key to unlock their chains; they discovered the strength to completely break free of them. All they had to do was ask for it.

Blindsided. Glasgow Assembly of God. Glasgow, MT.

Broken and bruised, the real people in these stories lived lives beyond recognition, beyond all hope. Or so it seemed.

These real people from Glasgow, Montana, and other great Northwest communities found the key to their purpose and the key to their freedom in the midst of their brokenness. Through sexual abuse and alcohol abuse, depression and divorce, these amazing victims changed their titles from survivors to overcomers. But they didn't do it alone.

Somewhere in the desperation of their brokenness, they invited a friend into their lives. He transformed their worlds like no other.

With a new and confident view from the top, these heroes are blindsided no more.

The One I Loved and Lost: True Stories of Life Beyond Loss. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

In a world created for the short-term, loss is inevitable. At some point, everyone must watch a parent, child, family member or friend pass from the life we know here on earth.

Death’s unavoidability, however, doesn’t make it any easier to handle — especially not when it comes at unpredictable times.

The storytellers in this book know loss. They’ve watched their children drown and seen their siblings murdered. They’ve lost loved ones to cancer and they’ve lost themselves in their grief. But with the aid of a healer much larger than themselves, they’ve coped in graceful and extraordinary ways, and somehow grown stronger through the experience.

Their loss, though irreplaceable, became great gain in the shaping of their compassion and character, and eventually led them to a healer who bound their terrible wounds.

Out of the Shadows: True Stories of Life Beyond Sexual Abuse. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

Every two and a half minutes in the United States, someone is sexually assaulted. One in six American women is victims of sexual assault; one in 33 men has faced the utter pain and heartbreak of sexual battery and molestation in his own life.

These are seven of those very stories — only these stories don’t end in heartbreak.

These stories are tales of triumph — remarkable true accounts of real people around the nation who didn’t just survive sexual abuse, but instead, overcame it.

With a remarkable aid that helped them, healed them and empowered them, these amazing victims stepped out of the rage, confusion and lies that their abuse had taught them to believe and entered a life of fullness and freedom beyond their comprehension.

With this healer by their side, their lives and their stories are now out of the shadows forever.

Supreme Intervention: True Stories of Life Beyond Alcohol Abuse. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

For some, the amber glow of whiskey and the ruby shades of wine triggers an irresistible desire to dull the pain of everyday life. Drink by drink, those who are chained to alcohol may descend into an abyss of hopelessness that seems inescapable.

Is there hope for a person so ensnared by alcohol that he has no desire to live outside his daily dose of venom?

Supreme Interventions proves that there is.

This powerful compilation of stories from real alcoholics with real addictions exemplifies the deathly grip of alcohol, and the only intervention these incredible victims could find to end the cycle of alcoholism in their own lives.

Their triumph over this powerful force offers hope and help to even the most extreme drinkers.

Breaking the Chains: True Stories of Life Beyond Drugs. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

Why can’t they just quit?

Watching people you love thrash about in drug addiction frightens even the most stout-hearted. If you’ve never heard the siren’s call of meth, it’s difficult to understand. This book pulls back the dingy drapes of the crack house, offering a view into lives driven by an insatiable desire for one more line, one more hit or one more needle. Listen as seven brave people share how they overcame those dark, addictive pasts and now celebrate clean lives today.

Read the amazing story of a normal-looking woman who worked a regular job but, unbeknownst to those who saw her every day, lived for the highs drugs provided her. See her drive to the roughest part of town, park her car and trudge through a yard filled with beer bottles and discarded needles to enter a house of terror, simply to enjoy one more fix. Learn how her unending cycle of despair was finally broken.

Find out how a man caught in a whirlpool of jail, hospitalization, incarceration and drug treatments finally escaped the force that was sucking him into oblivion.

These are just two of the dramatic, hope-filled stories in this book of triumph.

Whether you know someone struggling with addiction or you’re an addict yourself, you will find inspiration on every page of this book. If these people can break free, the one you love can, too.

The War Within: True Stories of Life Beyond the Battlefield. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

They are the face of sacrifice, selflessness and servanthood in the United States today. They are soldiers, and they face combat, controversy and death with valor and courage foreign to the civilian world. Their battles, however, often extend far beyond the mission field; their stories, far beyond the geographic vicinity of war.

Wade through the rice paddies of Vietnam with Boyd Nelson, a marine shot, wounded and supposedly paralyzed for life, who, two years later, stood up and walked again. Hide in a Stryker with Devin Hammond, an Army lieutenant with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, who was hit by an explosively formed projectile (EFP) and lived to tell about it. And cry with Melissa Loveless, the widow of Army Corporal Jeremy Loveless who was killed by a sniper in Iraq on Memorial Day.

Tenacity couldn’t save these real people; military medics couldn’t heal their wounds. But someone larger than themselves could.

In the end, this special friend was the only one strong enough and powerful enough to heal, offer hope and eventually, win the ever-lasting battle of the war within.

I Take Thee: True Stories of Life Beyond Marital Strife. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

Many of us have a Hollywood version of marriage as our guide. Unfortunately, our dreams of a blissful union and the reality of being married can be very different. Our busy lives demand so much energy that there is often times little energy left to devote to one of the most important relationships on this earth: the relationship between husband and wife.

This book is filled with stories of healing, hope and help for busy spouses who live in a materialistic, busy world. Read about couples who endured alcohol and abuse, built-up tension and all-out brawls. Hear their fights, see their struggles, and meet the healer who stepped in and saved them from their hurtful words and unfaithful attitudes to restore their marriages.

With a third party at the center of their relationships, these couples discovered that “until death parts us” could be much better than just “for better or worse.”

Mourning Sickness: True Stories of Life Beyond Abortion. Triumph Series. U.S.A.

Unconditional love. Forgiveness. Joy. A father. Renewal. A change of heart. A glimpse of greatness. The women and men in these authentic life stories want the same things we all desire, but life threw them a curve ball, and they’ve had to deal with the devastating aftereffects of abortion as they’ve sought each.

In Mourning Sickness, seven bold and vulnerable men and women share their stories of difficult life choices and regretted decisions. They open the drab drapes of the abortion clinic and reveal the procedure that haunted them for a lifetime.

Their legacy, however, will not lie in their decision to abort a child; their legacy will live in their choice to love, accept, forgive and overcome, thereby moving from mourning to morning.

The Presence and the Power. St. Andrew's Church. Mount Pleasant, SC.

Just east of Charleston, where the warm summer wind blows just off the ocean front, seven real people are testifying to a power and a presence that has utterly transformed their broken lives.

Listen to men who were physically healed from cancer and addictions, read about women who were saved from bad relationships and bad decisions. In the midst of emptiness, each of them found presence; in the midst of weakness, all of them found power. They only had to relinquish their control to gain the incredible strength they searched in so many places to find.

The Presence and Power that changed their lives will change your outlook on both forever.

There's Still Hope. First Assembly of God. Rapid City, SD.

In the shadows of alcoholism, drug abuse, physical abuse, depression, loss, grief, divorce and strained relationships, the light at the end of the tunnel can seem little more than a pinhole -- an unreachable and impossibly small ray of light hidden by a cave of desparation and depression.

But there's still hope.

In Rapid City, South Dakota, seven real people have found it. After facing the most difficult circumstances of their lives, they found a flashlight that shed both light and hope and led them confidently to the end of the tunnel.

Today, this flashlight illuminates not just their paths, but their lives.

Death is Not Welcome Here. Cornerstone Worship Center. Nampa, ID.

(Partial excerpt taken from Death is Not Welcome Here)

Contrary to popular belief, death does not wait for the last chapter to make his entrance... Sometimes, you can almost feel life slipping away. You wonder, Isn't there more than this? And at the worst of times, life doesn't seem to work out at all. It's like the punchline of a funny joking, only no one is laughing...

Every honest person will admit to having these moments. But hope doesn't have to die on earth. The six storytellers in this incredible book prove that life can be full of adventure, fun and deep meaning, and that death in its earthly, cancerous form, does not have to be welcome here.

Breaking the Cycle of Urban Despair, One Life at a Time. City Gospel Mission. Cincinnati, OH.

The most wonderful and most frustrating thing about circles is that they go on forever.

Circles represent wedding rings and the committment to a forever-kind of love; they represent unity and friendship, commonality and likeness. Unfortunately, when referring to patterns of negative behavior, they also represent repetition, defeat and a never-ending cycle of poor choices and hopeless living.

But not in Cincinnati, Ohio. Not at City Gospel Mission.

It's in this city that eight men have stepped out and made a decision to break the circle of poor choices in their own lives. Embracing a friend committed to life change and utter transformation, these amazing men have broken the cycle of urban despair in their own lives and learned to live a life free from the addictions, abuses and bad decisions that once bound them in their circle.

If you’re willing to hear about the hurting, and eager to heed the victory, get comfortable. These true life stories will amaze you!

Road to Freedom. Elgin Christian Life Center. Elgin, OR.

For some, it's a walk; for others, it's a daytrip. But for most of us, the path to freedom is a road -- a long and winding trail we must travel in order to experience the freedom found on the other side of the overpass.

This incredible book out of Elgin, Oregon, presents the stories of those who have traveled that road, sometimes quite literally -- as in the story of the woman who found her car in a ditch by the side of the road after a night of drunken driving -- and found freedom on the other side. Read about real people who left behind lives of depression and suppression, alcohol addiction and sexual abuse for a life free from the binding shackles of old lives and closed hearts.

It's a new journey in a new vehicle you won't soon want to leave.

A Bridge to Triumph. Canyon View Assembly of God. Foresthill, CA.

This book is not just the bridge to triumph; it presents the ultimate bridge over troubled waters. Read as these incredible travelers physically and even literally climb mountains and ford rivers, searching for the bridge that will protect them from drowning in the sea of life. From the comfort of their newly-built bridges, the troubled waters only seem to trickle by.

Seasons of Life: Stories of Truth and Triumph. Spirit Life Center. Leavenworth, WA.

Spring is my favorite season.

It seems like spring means change. Even though I have to trudge through the melting snow and the mucky roads for a period of time, I can make it, because I know on the other side of black ice and flooding parking lots are sunny skies and blooming flowers.

This book of stories from the incredible people at Spirit Life Center in Leavenworth, Washington, released this month, will be your spring -- your reminder that even in the midst of ugliness and darkness, hope and beauty can eventually prevail.

To everything there is a season,and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Not By Chance. Two Rivers Church. Gilbert, AZ.

There’s no such thing as “chance” in the heat and heart of central Arizona.

These are the stories of seven ordinary people who faced the trials of life with passion and poise. Through sexual abuse and self-injury, demons and divorce, these average Americans refused to become another losing statistic. To fight their demons, they took perhaps the biggest gamble of their lives and simultaneously discovered that their stories — and their lives — were not by chance.

This Could Be You. Destiny Christian Center. Centralia, WA.

Is it?

The people of Destiny Christian Center remove the band-aids to reveal the scars from deep wounds and bloody pasts as they dare to ask the question. Only after reading about the amazing first aid cream that healed them from the inside out can you truly answer.

Stories from the Oasis. Oasis Church. Rockwall, TX.

Stories from the Oasis packs a powerful punch! Delving into some taboo, not to mention heart wrenching, issues, this book shows the depths our awesome God will go to reach those he loves. The seductive and sordid world of strip clubs, swingers and bi-sexuality, the heartbreak of rape, the lonely world of a sexually abused child, the oppression of addiction, the grief of abortion — God journeys to all these places to bring love, compassion and healing. What a testament to the never ceasing, always faithful love of Jesus! Hang on to your hats. This book will blow you away!

– Brenna Darazs, Project Manager

People of the Park. Davis Park Church of Christ. Modesto, CA.

You will want to jump head-first into the lives of the amazing congregants at the Davis Park Church of Christ. Don’t miss their stories of complete renewal, rejuvenation and utter healing as they face some of life’s greatest challenges. They might inspire you, too, to conquer the world, one step after God at a time.

Never Abandoned. Church on the Rock. Battle Ground, WA.

Never Abandoned has a metamorphotic component to it. It took a unique opportunity to reach the hurting to new heights and became such a dizzying success that we can’t print them fast enough! Touching on everything from the loss of child to addiction to pornography, this book is touching people’s lives in not only number but quantity. It has given Church on the Rock a far-reaching tool to open the hearts of the lost and hurting and show them how much the savior longs to bring them unto himself. Powerful stuff!

– Brenna Darazs, Project Manager

A Beautiful Restoration. Harvest Church. Baker City, OR.

“Restoration” almost doesn’t do these storytellers justice.

In this book, the humble people of Baker City, Oregon, share how Jesus Christ not only changed them and restored them, but how he completely transformed them. You won’t want to miss a second of these life restoration — and transformation — tales.

You’ll never be satisfied with the broken product again.

I Will Not Go Quietly. Covenant House Christian Center. Orofino, ID.

There’s no silence in the small town of Orofino, Idaho. At least not in the face of tragedy — not for these heroes.

These are the stories of seven ordinary people who faced the trials and tribulations of life with passion and poise. Through aneurysms and accidents, abuse and even death, these average Americans broke the chains of bondage and burden and discovered the solution that saved their very souls. The noise they made and the shackles they shattered will echo beyond the Clearwater River forever.

Testimony. Ketchikan Church. Ketchikan, AK.

From the beautiful coastal town of Ketchikan, Alaska, comes this powerful book of life-changing stories. Share the joy and tears as each of these storytellers opens up the doors to the deepest corners of their hearts and pasts. Testimony will change the way you think about — and tell — yours forever.

City of Refuge. White City Assembly of God. White City, OR.

After reading this incredible book, you won’t be able to imagine White City as anything but.

Join real people from around the nation, including two from this special Oregon location, as they share how they escaped their tumultuous and traumatic lives to find peace in a shelter and refuge not of their own building. You’ll want to stay locked in the shelter they discover forever.

Amazing Journeys. Living Hope Christian Center. Madras, OR.

It sounds like a book of vacations I’d love to complete some day. But Amazing Journeys transcends vacations, visits or free time. In fact, these journeys occupy not just time and space, but complete lives.

The storytellers at Living Hope Christian Center continually remind me that it’s not just about my destination; it’s about the way I live on the long road there.

Coal to Diamonds. Assembly of God, Christian Missionary Alliance and Presbyterian. Cle Elum, WA.

When I observe the glitter that catches the light in my diamond wedding ring, it boggles my mind that such a beautiful product could originate from something so yucky and dirty and black. Coal is such a lowly substance in my house. It’s stored in the backyard, hardly ever protected from the rain and used in a rarely-washed grill to help heat my burgers in the backyard. It’s lowly, it’s messy and it’s just plain not very pretty to look at or interact with.

In many ways, it reminds me of myself — before Jesus Christ came along.

In Coal to Diamonds, storytellers from three churches in Cle Elum, Washington, share their coal-to-diamond moments — the moments of pressure and heat that, over a period of time, transformed these rough subjects into beautiful gems of Jesus. Their polished stones shine carats’ worth of brilliance on their entire community.

Life: Stories from the Harbor. New Life Fellowship. Raymond, WA.

So many times, we, as Americans, think that life is something that happens when we turn a certain age. Life is what happens when we reach 21, or when we get married, or when we have kids, or when we land the job of our dreams.

For the people of New Life Fellowship, life is just a little bit more. And now, with Jesus Christ in the picture, a little bit longer, too.

Don’t miss this book of truth about what real life is all about.

Broken. New Life Assembly. Kearney, NE.

In the secular world, “broken” is a bad thing. It’s when your car doesn’t work, your heater stops heating, your clock stops ticking, your heart stops beating. But in the world of New Life Assembly, “broken” is actually a beneficial adjective. It’s only through brokenness that these amazing congregants discover the answer to true fullness: Jesus Christ.

Reasons for Hope. Christ Community Church. Beaverton, OR.

What are yours?

Christ Community Church offers seven great reasons to hold on, hang in and hop back on the train of life in the face of depression and despair. In Christ Jesus, there is hope.

Have you found it yet?

Westside Stories. Westside Vineyard, Portland. Portland, OR.

Though these are no Tonys or Marias, these stories of love and brokenness and tragedy and healing will touch you just as deeply as the Broadway musical. Read intently as storytellers from West Portland put their lives on the table, and their hopes in the Lord.

Stories from the Living Room. Living Fortress Foursquare. Cody, WY.

In my house, the living room is where all the real conversation happens. It’s where everyone inevitably gathers once the pleasantries have been exchanged and the dishes have been cleaned to come together for some real dish on life, love and happiness.

In this book, Living Fortress Foursquare invites you into its very own living room — a place of vulnerability and realness where church members share the most personal moments of their lives.

You won’t want to miss the bedtime stories.

The Ticket. Boise Valley Christian Communion. Boise, ID.

In our society, you need a ticket for everything — the bus, the train, the ferry, the plane. And if your name isn’t specifically etched in that “passenger name” box, you’re sure as gee willikers not going anywhere.

In The Ticket, the storytellers of Boise Valley Christian Communion Church offer readers a window into their journeys, and a personalized ticket that will take them straight to the top, no detours allowed.

After reading this book, you won’t want to be left flying standby.

Free to Fall. Friends Community Church. Fairbanks, AK.

In Alaska, mountains are permanent pictorial fixtures — especially outside Fairbanks, where Mount McKinley shines her radiant, snow-covered peaks in summer, fall, winter and spring. It’s fitting, then, that the book produced for a church in view of the tallest mountain in North America would include that major landmark in a collection that’s really about lifelines at its core.

Read as eleven Fairbanksans share their struggles and uncertainties, addictions and abuses, as they strive to climb impossible mountains on their own strength. Marvel as each conquers his situation by relinquishing his materials, charts, compasses and plans to a single source — the only true lifeline that could save him from the ultimate fall.

You’ll never want to climb a mountain without one again.

On Eagle’s Wings. King’s Way Ministry Center. Eagle River, AK.

In Eagle River, Alaska, the most beautiful soaring birds seem to gracefully dance across the sky. With their wings outstretched and their eyes fiercely focused on an object below, these creatures always seem elegant. Distinguished. Focused. Proud.

Those are the kinds of wings I’d want to fly with forever.

In On Eagle’s Wings, the storytellers of King’s Way Ministry Center share how they’ve landed those wings for themselves, and have learned to fly to heights they never imagined before.

Stories from the Edge. Stateline Community Church. Milton-Freewater, OR.

And peering over.

This book will push the boundaries of your comfort zone and cause you to question where you stand and how grounded you really are.

You won’t want to miss the riveting evaluation.

A Tale of Two Kingdoms. Rivergate Church. Ashland, OR.

This book of Cinderella tales will take you through the trials and tribulations, hard times and heartaches, of the members of Rivergate Church. Read as these everyday slaves to addictions and societal standards transform from peasants to princesses with the help of the prince -- of peace.

When Heaven Shakes the Earth. Living Hope Fellowship. Aloha, OR.

There are tremors in Aloha, Oregon, where everyday members of the Living Hope Fellowship congregation have been shaken from their foundation.

Read the stories of healing, recovery and victory as Heaven, almost literally, shook the Earth.

Lifelines. Abundant Life. Sterling, AK.

Do you have one?

This book from Sterling, Alaska, begs the question. For these storytellers, the answer is the most trustworthy belayer known to man: Jesus Christ.

They Took Action and Won. Grace International. Willis, TX.

It’s hard to win when you don’t know what you’re fighting for, or reaching toward.

These amazing storytellers fought personal battles of depression and despair, addiction and abuse. Through a fighter spirit that refused to quit, they sought out the coach that eventually placed a winner’s ring on that Superbowl finger.

They don’t know how to lose anymore.

Stories that Bridge the Gap. Life Church. Jerome, ID.

And that’s just what our books at Good Catch do. In this book, the incredible people of Jerome, Idaho, share how Jesus Christ bridged their personal gap between knowledge and truth, skepticism and faith, and even life and death. Don’t miss GCP’s very first printed book, almost completely volunteer-produced, now changing lives in the great state of Idaho.