From the Author: Beth Dotson Brown

God is always at work in my life and once in awhile, I am blessed with the knowledge about where God is guiding me precisely when it's happening.

So it was in the summer of 2005. As a longtime freelance writer who yearned to have more time to work on my fiction, I applied for a summer artist-in-residence grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. A few weeks after applying, I received the call that I had been chosen and would have the opportunity to spend a week at their retreat--Hopscotch House--exploring the idea I had proposed. It felt like such a success to me that it was almost as if I had already been offered a contract to publish the book. The summer was beginning to look very good!

Then I received an e-mail message from an editor who I had never met asking if I might be interested in discussing the possibility of working on a book for her publishing company. The editor was Laurie Delgatto of Saint Mary's Press and those e-mail exchanges prompted me to think about the possibility of writing my first nonfiction book.

The next thing that happened didn't get marked in the column of good news for the summer. I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It came as such a shock that everything seemed slightly unreal for a few days. And there wasn't much time to re-establish any sort of reality before they were wheeling me into surgery. The post-surgery news was surprising. The tumor had been very large and fast growing, but it hadn't spread into the lymph nodes. Nonetheless, I would likely need chemotherapy and radiation.

My week at Hopscotch House was scheduled for 10 days after surgery. The surgeon assured me it would be a positive thing for me to do, so I embraced the opportunity with enthusiasm and packed up my notes and laptop for the trip. I could deal with oncologists and further tests when I returned.

I also had to consider this book I might still have the opportunity to write for Saint Mary's Press. I called a fellow Catholic journalist who had been through breast cancer treatment and asked her--am I crazy for thinking I can write a book while going through chemotherapy? She assured me I wasn't crazy. As I prayed to see God's will in this situation, it seemed that I could not only do it, but it's where God was leading me. What could be more affirming and uplifting while going through chemotherapy than to hear stories people had to tell about their faith?

My task was to write a book for teenagers that includes stories about why people choose to be Catholic. Since the first audience I had ever felt drawn to writing for was teenagers, the project seemed a response to a long-forgotten desire. As I heard from people who experienced their own heartaches, physical challenges and spiritual highs and lows, I knew the project was an answer not only the prayers of the editors who conceived it but also to my prayers for guidance in this phase of my life.

I finished the most intensive part of the chemotherapy in January 2006. After a short break I moved onto the radiation as I also finished up the last of the 39 interviews. By June, I was down to an easier-to-handle chemotherapy every three weeks and the draft of the book was finished. Not long after that, I completed my final revisions and put the project in the hands of the good people at Saint Mary's Press.

I hope you, too, will be open to where God is guiding you in your life.