Local author confronts darkness in “Garden of Hearts”
DRUMMOND – “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”
Those words once penned by Ann Frank may best describe the first book by local author Alicia Anderson, Garden of Hearts.
“Sometimes we find ourselves in situations we never dreamed we'd be in,” said Anderson, “Whether self inflicted or the trials dealt by chance and options seem slim and the walls close in. Thankfully, I didn't choose that way. My life was dark, but there was light and things always get better even though it doesn't feel like it at the time. That's my goal with telling my story. I want to show others hope!”
Anderson took approximately two years to write her book, finding time to work on it between her time as a real estate agent and whenever her son was napping. And even when it was done, she wasn’t fully convinced that she should release it to the world.
“Suicide has become so common and I have lost several people I love to that tragic end,” reflected Anderson. “I had my book published for a month before I had the courage to come out publicly with it. I lost another dear friend to suicide in June and that prompted me to just do it. I made a public post on Facebook.
“I would like to say that I don't know how people can be in such a dark place that they would commit the act of ending it all, but I've been close to there.”
Anderson went on to give a general overview of what inspired her to write Garden of Hearts.
“There is nothing lucky about my story, and neither is it special or unique. I fact, it's messy, it's ugly and it's full of darkness. It was the darkest chapters of my story where I felt God's grace. He will use our darkest moments and biggest messes to help others see light. Every chapter of my story was difficult to write. I kept thinking, once I got through the death chapters, it would get easier. But the chapters of the pain I was responsible for were even harder to write. God will create beauty in the chapters of your story if you let Him.”
Copies of Garden of Hearts can be obtained personally from Anderson, as well as on Amazon.com. It can also be found on Kindle readers.
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