Have you ever had a book just absolutely wreck you? Me too . . . only it was the book I was writing. However, it didn’t just wreck me. It broke me–and God used the writing of it to restore me.
The theme of Sung in Shadows, the book that broke me, is mental illness and the struggle of those who support others with mental illness. Why that topic? It’s actually a topic near and dear to my heart. While mental health has become less of a taboo topic, there is still a huge gap in support and understanding of those who struggle with mental illness and the people who support them. I’ve been on both sides of the aisle now, and my wrestle with mental illness actually came to a head during the writing of Sung in the Shadows.
Don’t Be Like Jonah . . . or Me
You see, even though I knew God wanted me to write a book with a mental health thread, I wanted to make it as small as I possibly could. But God wasn’t satisfied with a “side-note” of what He called me to write. With only three months before my book was due, God orchestrated events so that my editor read the first chapter of my draft-in-progress. With firm, but loving kindness, she told me what I turned in was not the story that needed to be told. That mental health thread I was trying to hide under many other layers of plot? That was were the real story was. That was the one that needed to be told.
I should have known that fighting God wasn’t going to end with me winning.
So everything got tossed out and rewritten in 1/3 of the time that I usually write a book–and it wasn’t because it came easy. Every word was a fight, every page a wrestle with the struggles I’d endured as a supporter of those with mental illnesses and the realization that I myself had reached a mental breakdown. I needed help, but those I supported still needed me. I should have gotten professional help, and I regret that I didn’t. However, God was good enough to minister to me through the writing of the story, those who ended up being my support, and the soundtrack to Sung in the Shadows below.
A release is coming, but it’s so much more . . .
Between now and release, I plan to create several blog posts, not just about the history like I usually do, but also about mental health, my journey to write this story, and some things God taught me about Christians and mental health. Unfortunately, the Church has, by-and-large (but not everyone), ignored mental illness, shamed those who struggled, and/or failed to support those with mental illness and the loved ones who support them.
Sung in the Shadows is specifically written for anyone who has ever struggled to support someone with mental illness or has ever struggled themselves. As hard as this book was for me, it’s become as much a book of my heart as Counterfeit Hope is. It’s so important to me that both groups feel seen, understood, supported, and loved by God despite the struggles.
Today, I’m sharing with you what I’m calling the “Sung in the Shadows Soundtrack.” These are the songs I listened to over and over and over and over (and still listen to on hard days) as I wrote Sung in the Shadows. May it encourage you and help you as you walk through your own struggles.
READER QUESTION: What songs would you add to a list for encouragement and hard days?
When past darkness prowls, will stepping into the light lead to a brighter future?
In nineteenth-century Cincinnati, fear keeps Nora Davis caged with secrets and lies. Her true identity as the daughter of a famous opera singer is too dangerous to reveal with her former captors still on the loose. But weekly singing lessons at Longview Asylum—her paranoid mother’s permanent residence—light a flame in Nora, and it’s one she can avoid fanning for only so long.
With his suicidal ma in the asylum, Ezekiel Beaumont’s soul is weary, but Nora’s presence at the asylum intrigues him. As a Pike’s Opera House employee, Ezekiel thinks Nora might be cut out for the stage. He also begins to wonder if Nora’s ma is really the famed Constanza Brisbane, who went missing mid-performance. He’s determined to find out.
Though Ezekiel brings the performance world a little too close for comfort, Nora is drawn to his warm personality all the same. The two of them steadily grow closer, but then Nora begins to fear she’s being watched, and her own paranoia blooms.
As the line between what’s real and false grows fainter, will Ezekiel’s and Nora’s faith and love overcome?
“From the haunting halls of Longview Asylum to the dangerous secrets of Nora’s past, Sung in the Shadows delivers a riveting blend of romance, mystery, and redemption.”
—Misty M. Beller, USA TODAY best-selling author of the Sisters of the Rockies series
Heavenly Sunshine actually just humming or singing lifts my spirits
Oh, I hadn’t heard that one, but I didn’t grow up in church.
Have you heard the song, “Make It Well” by MercyMe yet? It’s perfect for those tough times!
I would add Seph Schlueter’s Won’t Start Now
Great suggestion!
Mental illness is an issue my family has struggled with for many years as well. My 45 year old son is stuck in the system here in Canada. The psychiatrists and antipsychotics that I originally thought would help have only made his life progressively worse. He’s forced to stay on a clopixal injection that makes him continually physically ill.
Prayer helps, but God hasn’t chosen to free him from his problems.
Praying for you and your family.
Hugs, Pearl. That is so hard. We hate to see our children suffer, especially when they’re stuck in a perpetual cycle of it.
Dear Lord and Heavenly Father,
We love You and lean into you because You are the Great I Am. You are the Mighty Physician and Wonderful Counselor. You are worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. We lift up Pearl’s son as he continues to struggle with mental illness. Prove a peace and healing that only You can bring. Even if that is not Your will for him, we pray that he would know Your love for him and how You want to hold him close and walk through this with him. Draw him to faith in you if he doesn’t know you already, and if he does, draw Him ever nearer to You. Be with Pearl and her family as they strive to love and support him. Loving and supporting those with mental illness is very difficult and draining. Our hearts are in a constant state of ache. Give her peace, encouragement, and endurance as she continues to love her son well. We love You. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Thank you for your prayers, Pearl.
Thanks for your beautifully worded prayer. You are right about that constant heartache. But having Jesus walking through it all with us makes all the difference.
My other son sent me a passage from Luke 6 today about Jesus healing people plagued by demons. Well, we keep praying for healing and also to be freed from the bondage of the mental health system.
Amen.
My Name is Lazarus by Greater Vision
That is a good one too!
‘Voice of Truth’ by Casting Crowns
Love that song. We’re huge Casting Crowns fans.
I enjoyed the playlist yesterday. I had some of those songs saved too. A few of my go-tos are Hope Now by Addison Road, Still Waters (Psalm 23) by Leanna Crawford and a new song, Oasis of Hope by Terrian and Madison Ryann Ward.
Oh I’ll have to check those out. I’ve heard the Leanna one, but I definitely need to add it.
This book sounds amazing!!!!!!! Although I’m sure it’s going to make me cry…..
One of my closest friends had some…mental health issues, and I felt like I couldn’t find a SINGLE THING that talked about it. I could find books about the… less taboo mental illnesses, but not about some of the grittier, less comfortable to talk about ones. So far the only book I’ve found that was anything close to what I was looking for was Miss Blair on Blackwell’s Island by Grace Hitchcock.
I’m going to go preorder myself a paperback!!!!!
I’m glad this book is filling a niche that is sorely empty. It’s so strange the line of acceptable and taboo still of mental illness. It’s almost like the world is proud and happy to look at a character bandaid slapped over the real problem, but they refuse to acknowledge or look at the ugliness that lies beneath. I’m praying for your friend. Mental illness is such a struggle for everyone involved.
This book sounds so interesting I can’t wait to read a print copy of it have a Blessed Day
I hope it will bless you when you get to read it! Have a great day!
A Better Yes
Found in You
both songs by Travis Clark
Great suggestions!
Oh My Soul by Casting Crowns has been very meaningful and encouraging to me.
That is another good one!
I am so glad that you had the courage to start over and write the story that God intended you to write. My husband and I are well acquainted with mental illness, our youngest son suffers from a combination of mental health diagnoses and it is exhausting and often impossible to explain to others. Thankfully, we do have friend and other family members who support us.
It’s so hard and exhausting to love and walk alongside someone with a mental health diagnosis. Without revealing too much of others’ private lives, I have several immediate family members who fall under that category. I always struggle to call them mental illnesses because, personally, I hate the stigma that comes with it. However, there is a difference between what most of the world is framing as mental health today and the more serious, life-altering versions that mental illness refer to. I’m so glad you have a supprt group to surround you. My family did not have that, and it’s a hard lonely road to walk. We have some support around my MIL as we’re entering a potential diagnosis, but it still feels very lonely and hard.