
Why would anyone read a memoir written by a high school girl? It wasn’t particularly lighthearted. It explained too many details. I had never read a single memoir. I only knew history; I wrote it down. And, reluctantly, I broadcasted the hardest season of my life – one I was still crawling out of - by sending it in to a fine arts competition, which led to an invitation to nationals, winning fifth place, and soon, people I didn’t even know reading it.
Something clicked…unnaturally. There were no previous awards nor any knowledge from creative writing classes. But these teenage girls began to open up about personal struggles because of my story, and I realized it wasn’t about the competition nor even my healing process, but their stories. My A Time to Stand season was something girls were still experiencing. Could they make it through their hard season? I wanted to talk to each of them but I often do not speak according to what I want to say. Thoughts explode and cloud my mind so rapidly what comes out is a low, “Yeah, that’s hard” instead of a book overflowing with compassion. Could I write it? Well, the story had clicked because God allowed it to click; I trusted He would help me write A Time to Stand.
Excitingly, this Christmas, it will become a real book to touch and hold.
The story begins January 4 on a car ride – the day Candice waves goodbye to her grandparents and drives away from everything familiar. Candice has just turned sixteen. She has left her childhood cottage in Missouri. You will join Candice on her first day as a private schooled student, entering classrooms and hallways lined with lockers and cafeterias and bus rides. 200 pages will wind you through the last five months of her sophomore year of high school. A Time to Stand (ATTS) dives into the world of cliques, quirks, and social cues, while tackling real issues like depression and the temptations of compromise. Best of all, it is a world based on real people and events. If you or a girl you know has just moved, or is struggling with school, or perhaps simply in a rough season, this book is dedicated to her. I will be sharing more of the backstory behind ATTS leading up to its release. In the meantime, here is a sneak peek of the realm to come.
After leaving her entire life in another state, Candice must quickly make a name for herself at the rich and prestigious Oklahoma Excellence High school. New kids are rare at OEH. That is what heightens the stakes. When head cheerleader, Carissa Carlyle, slips her what looks like a golden ticket to popularity, Candice wrestles whether it will alienate herself from the real ‘Candice’. Purple-haired Keli insists she join the drug crowd, while the average girls dare her to make a move at all. But the worst has yet to hit, and it will take every ounce of courage in Candice to survive the collisions of faith and reality.
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