“Okay, young man. That’ll be twenty five cents.”
Lesra: Twenty-five cent? Must not be much of a book.” [Movie: Hurricane Carter]
Twenty-five cents for a book about a man’s life. Not much. But the boy, Lesra, bought it, went home and started to read. He couldn’t put the book down and when he finished, he wanted to meet the author. He wrote him a letter…a letter that would begin an amazing journey, not only for him but also for the author of that book.
Twenty-five cents for a book. Who knew the miracles that would grow from the man who penned his story and the boy who bought it at a church sale!
Carter’s intention in writing his story wasn’t to give hope or teach a lesson, rather it was to have his voice and deal with the injustices of his situation. A champion fighter in the boxing ring, Carter learned the ‘pen is mightier than the fist.’ He wrote what happened to him, because he needed to get out the anger, and pain and frustration over the bleak existence that had become his life. Carter wrote alone in a stark prison cell. He wrote with frustration, passion and rage at the system and how it had treated him. And in writing his truth, he found freedom emotionally and eventually freedom also from the life sentence he had received for a crime he didn’t commit.
Carter’s story stands as a lesson to me to always follow my heart and write what I know and be brave enough to put it out there. We never know who we’ll touch and, in return, who will touch us.
I never wanted to write my story. I never wanted to tell those things I lived and survived. I buried them inside and went on with life. But shame stood like a barrier preventing me from living free. God knew. It’s true what the Bible says, He does complete what He starts in our lives. Something happened that thrust me back to the past, something that forced me to write as a means to get the memories out.
Like Carter, I wrote with fervour, desperate to rid myself of the shame and hurt and anger of all that injustice. And also like Carter, I discovered real freedom and not just for myself, but others who began picking up my book, In the Eye of Deception, and reading it. “You’re book came to me as a message of hope,” wrote one reader. Others said, what I lived, my story, gave them hope and showed them nothing is impossible to overcome.
Hope….it’s what kept me holding on and not giving in to the darkness.
Hope…it’s what He gave me and continues to give me.
Hope that things can change and do.
Hope…it’s why I write….to show that His love trumps all.
This writing journey has given back so much to me. Not only has it given me a voice, but I see it as a wonderful gift He gave me to reach out and help others. Through a series of events, I was introduced to Sheila Hollands who heads Hebron Ministries. A chaplain at a women’s prison in Milton, Ontario, called Sheila and told her that the women incarcerated in Vanier Prison love reading my books. “It gives them hope,” he said.
Sheila called and told me she has an extra $5,000 of donated money that the ministry wants to put towards getting my book, In the Eye of Deception, into prisons across North America. Work has begun on this project.
I am in awe. Truly, He takes what was meant for our harm and turns it for our good. Writing, for me, equals giving back and offers shining hope for others.
Nikki Rosen, author of: In the Eye of Deception, Dancing Softly & Twisted Innocence
Winner of The Word Guild Award
Woah…a powerful example of God at work – in His time. Wonderful and encouraging, Nikki. Great post for writers to hear.