True Stories That Prove God's Word & Miracles Still Work Today"
WELLINGTON, OH ( December 14, 2009) Limbs nearly severed, kidnapping, abduction, gender identity confusion, gunshot wounds, terminal illness and abuse were survived, triumphed over and transformed into "teachable moments" by the seven women whose stories are chronicled in this book. Their histories and personalities are as different and unique as their testimonies. However, there is a common thread that binds them -- they all are ordinary women who serve an extraordinary God.
Ciaj (pronounced See-a h-juh), an essayist, poet and fiction writer has lent her talent to non-fiction by writing and editing "Faith..." and states: "These testimonies and witnessed miracles are more compelling than any work of fiction at a time when we need miracles more than ever." She further notes that the truth about the power of God to heal, deliver, protect and restore produced memoirs that are more captivating and relatable than tales that are sometimes fabricated for the express purpose of trying to make Oprah's Book Club or the NYT Bestseller List.
CiajDiann Harris, a paralegal and former state law enforcement officer and mental health tech, also worked in journalism as a staff writer for a newspaper. She received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Tiffin University and attended Cleveland-Marshall College of Law before being called into ministry. In 2005, her work was published in "Surviving in the Hour of Darkness: The Health and Wellness of Women of Colour and Indigenous Women" edited by G. Sophie Harding and published by University of Calgary Press and I Woke Up and Put my Crown On: The Project of 76 Voices edited by Rochell D. Hart. She is working on her next book: "Mommyisms & Daddylore: Common Sense & Straight Talk About Relationships" as well as the stage adaptation of "When I Stepped Out on Faith..."
Ciaj said: "Renowned New York literary agent, Marie Brown once asked me where I was from in Ohio. When I told her Lorain, she said, 'Oh, Toni Morrison.' My reply was, 'Yes, there's somethin' in the water.' Lorain also is the hometown of Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book critic and former senior editor of the Washington Post Book World. Ciaj continues: "Reading Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" and Dirda's "An Open Book..." and seeing the stark similarities to my early years written on the pages of novels by Nobel a nd Pulitzer Prize winning authors -- infused my possibilities with t he power of probability. But it was much more than Lake Erie that we had in common. We shared a culture and values that stood the test of time -- for a long, long time. I grew up in the same neighborhood as Toni Morrison a couple decades after she did but we also had many of the same teachers -- teachers, who challenged our minds, encouraged our achievements and were instrumental in shaping our futures."