There are some books we as authors write that are as much for the author as for the readers. Sung in the Shadows, my newest release, was that book for me . . . even though I didn’t want to write it initially. The theme is mental illness and the struggle of those who support others who struggle. Unfortunately, I personally have walked both sides of that track now, and it left me with scars and emotions I didn’t want to face. So when I knew God was telling me to include mental illness in my story, I squeezed to the absolute smallest thread possible.

But God isn’t satisfied with us giving only partial obedience, because partial obedience is really just disobedience with makeup on. So, when I turned in my first chapter to be edited for a preview at the end of Written in Secret, He used my editor to say that the story I had written was not the story that needed to be told. So with three months left before my due date, the entirety of what I’d written was thrown out. Normally, books take me nine months to write, but in three, I turned in the roughest draft I’ve ever submitted. It was only by God’s mercy (and the hands of some really great editors) that the book became what it did.

The process of writing it was excruciating and it took me places I didn’t want to go. However, I knew if I was going to write this book, I wanted it to be a voice for those who struggle with mental illness and the people who support them. While mental health has become less of a taboo topic, there is still a huge gap in support and understanding of true mental illness and the toll it takes on everyone involved. From my experiences—past and present—both groups feel lonely, misunderstood, and invisible. And unfortunately, the church has largely been silent about mental illness or has shamed those who struggle while ignoring the hurts and needs of those who love them.

Through interviews with Christians who struggle with or support those with mental illness, I delved deep into the experiences of others to give me a broader understanding of what others have gone through. What emerged were broken characters who found hope even in the deepest darkness. They learned that they are not less of a Christian because they were not healed from their mental illness; that hiding one’s pain doesn’t make them a stronger person; and that Jesus’s yoke is easy, and His burden light. It might sound trite, but it’s so much deeper and richer than you know.

The book that I didn’t want to write became a book near and dear to my heart. Its message of hope and encouragement is one that I pray will reach those who need to hear it most. As I sign off, I want to leave you with two quotes from the story that I hope you can cling to no matter what you face.

“God never promised to remove the burdens of our lives, but to bear that burden with us and to help guide and direct us through it. Maybe Jesus paired us under the same yoke so we can share each other’s burdens as He guides us through this mess of life.”

“Fear loses its power when one becomes brave enough to share the yoke of their burden with someone who cares.”

1 Comment

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1. Maureen D. Miller says:

   03/23/2026 at 8:39 am

   Oh how I love this!
   Like you, my debut novel, Gideon’s Book, is part of me—my story—as well as the story of three heroes I call our birth moms.
   Thank you for being brave. I believe— It’s always a better story because we were! And all glory to God!

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