My new book, Searching for Home, will release on October 29, 2024. For the next few weeks I’ll be posting excerpts to give you a taste of what’s to come. Here’s a little background for today.
I don’t know about you, but most of my life I felt really bad for the people I saw huddled in doorways on a piece of cardboard, panhandling at an intersection, staggering down the city streets. Eyes averted, I kept on with my day. Give money? Nope, not supporting their drug habit. I’ll admit to a certain amount of distain mixed in with the sympathy; kick the drugs, get a job.
Then God called my son to homeless ministry, forming Light in My City. As he became immersed in this shadow world that exists within plain sight, he shared stories of their lives that were shocking–but not in the way one imagines. What you see is not always real. They aren’t simply “homeless.” They are people who happen to not have a home. People. They have backstories, former lives, families, joys, sorrows. Just like everyone else. Except they don’t have a place to take a warm shower, get a good meal, and curl up under a comfy blanket to regroup.
A powerful call to tell their story mandated I write this book without romanticizing their situation, without demeaning them, without glossing over the truth of their reality. The result is, well, making me a bit nervous because it’s real. REAL. And to be real about this community means to be gritty, profane, explicit. Telling readers about it is not sufficient. Entry into the homeless existence means feeling the horror, experiencing the degradation, showing the reality. And that’s not pretty.
But. Another reality is hope. Redemption is also real. The spiritual world exists. In modern literary terms, this book is paranormal romance among other things–mixed genres are my sweet spot. But once again, it shows the reality of the depths God will go for us. His love takes us home.
Next time, I’ll provide some greater context to the characters, setting, and plot. Thanks for taking this journey with me!
I don’t know about you, but most of my life I felt really bad for the people I saw huddled in doorways on a piece of cardboard, panhandling at an intersection, staggering down the city streets. Eyes averted, I kept on with my day. Give money? Nope, not supporting their drug habit. I’ll admit to a certain amount of distain mixed in with the sympathy; kick the drugs, get a job.
Then God called my son to homeless ministry, forming Light in My City. As he became immersed in this shadow world that exists within plain sight, he shared stories of their lives that were shocking–but not in the way one imagines. What you see is not always real. They aren’t simply “homeless.” They are people who happen to not have a home. People. They have backstories, former lives, families, joys, sorrows. Just like everyone else. Except they don’t have a place to take a warm shower, get a good meal, and curl up under a comfy blanket to regroup.
A powerful call to tell their story mandated I write this book without romanticizing their situation, without demeaning them, without glossing over the truth of their reality. The result is, well, making me a bit nervous because it’s real. REAL. And to be real about this community means to be gritty, profane, explicit. Telling readers about it is not sufficient. Entry into the homeless existence means feeling the horror, experiencing the degradation, showing the reality. And that’s not pretty.
But. Another reality is hope. Redemption is also real. The spiritual world exists. In modern literary terms, this book is paranormal romance among other things–mixed genres are my sweet spot. But once again, it shows the reality of the depths God will go for us. His love takes us home.
Next time, I’ll provide some greater context to the characters, setting, and plot. Thanks for taking this journey with me!
leave a comment