About the Book

Book:  Faces of Courage

Author: Susan K. Beatty

Genre: Christian Woman’s Fiction

Release date: May 11, 2021

Fear strangles even the faithful sometimes.

Despite every attempt to be brave, fear has defined Olivia Stanford’s life: with each new foster home, when her adopted parents died leaving her all alone again, trusting and marrying her husband, Frank, and coping with his football injuries and career loss.

Without faith, fear only grows in the face of adversity.

When Frank becomes abusive, Olivia enters a terror-filled life in her upscale Southern California home. Common sense demands she dig deep for the courage to confront him–to demand change. Fear and confusion push back.

And just as courage finally blooms within her comes the terrifying diagnosis: breast cancer.

Some say courage is found at the intersection of faith and grit. How will Olivia manage to summon either in the midst of this new battle?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

“Courage: The intersection of faith and Grit”

Susan K. Beatty is passionate about finding courage through faith and grit, particularly through the trials of breast cancer. Her daughter is a metastatic breast cancer “thriver” and has been an inspiration for her writing. Susan retired from a full-time job in 2017 and is now pursuing a novel-writing career. Her first novel, “Faces of Courage,” is in revision. Susan is the author of “An Introduction to Home Education” (AKA “California Homeschool Manual”), was the assistant director of the SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference and is the president of her local ACFW-OC Chapter. She is a professional writer/journalist. Susan is proof you can begin a fiction writing career after age seventy.

 

More from Susan

The words “You have breast cancer” can drop you to your knees. What’s worse is when those words are spoken to your thirty-one-year-old daughter. And worse yet when they are spoken to her more than once. My daughter Melanie has had three bouts with breast cancer, the second time classified her with stage IV metastatic breast cancer of which there is no cure. Over an eleven-year period, Melanie has undergone twelve surgeries, one removing two-thirds of her sternum to be replaced by a donor bone with titanium clamps.

Melanie’s courage during these battles inspired me to write about courage at the intersection of faith and grit. True-to-life stories follow characters through cancer and other issues confronting women today.

In Faces of Courage, I wanted to tell a story like Melanie’s but not exactly Melanie’s, a story nevertheless filled with growing courage. Melanie’s journey doesn’t include an abusive husband (Praise God!), but our terrorized heroine Olivia suffers from her husband’s mistreatment, confused by her misunderstanding of how God views her, and challenged by her lack of strong faith. Just as her courage matures and strengthen through these problems, she’s thrown by those knee-buckling words, “You have breast cancer.”

It is necessarily a gritty look at domestic abuse and the realities of dealing with cancer and its various treatments. I wanted to show Olivia’s growth as a wife, how she experienced the cancer, and how, with the help of faith and grit, her courage flourished.

In many ways, this novel is a tribute to women who fight these battles with bravery, even if that valor takes time to develop. I pray the reader, by witnessing another’s journey, is strengthened in her own battles.

MY REVIEW 

I sit here in awe of a story that captures the emotional journey one woman takes as she faces many detours in her life. The author made this story one that will help many as they journey through domestic abuse and breast cancer. I couldn’t help but think of Job as I walked beside Olivia. Yes I felt I was there watching her life unfold and my heart hurt for her. 

The story is centered around Olivia and how she faces several trying moments in her marriage and health. I loved Olivia  instantly because even though she could have given up she continued to walk in faith. She turned to God in her weakest moments and found courage to take each step one day  at a time. Some may think her husband was weak, but I think there were other factors that were tormenting him. His behavior is inexcusable but I have to give him grace because God gives it to everyone of us. 

For reasons Olivia didn’t quite understand her husband abandons her at the most crucial moment in her life. How do you keep going when everything seems to be going wrong? I am reminded of the scripture that says, “If God is for you, then who can be against you?” He was right there with Olivia as she heard her devastating diagnosis and held her hand as she saw her husband walk away from her. Her strength is encouraging to read and I appreciate how honest the author illustrates how breast cancer affects someone. It was not easy to read about Olivia’s chemo or radiation but it did help me understand what women face. 

As the title implies, there are many faces of courage, Olivia faces her diagnosis with grace and allowed family and friends to be there for her. I have to mention her mother-in-law because she steps up to be a person who stood by Olivia and helped her through her trials. Katherine is such a caring and compassionate character that I wanted to hug her for showing unconditional love to Olivia. 

The story was hard to read at times only because it was emotional and realistic. If you read the author’s notes at the end of the book, you will understand how personal this story is to her. As I walked through Olivia’s journey I learned how courage helps us to overcome the fear that the enemy tries to put on us. Olivia continued to seek God’s wisdom in every aspect of her life. She faced depression, health issues, marriage problems and still through it all she taught us that “courage is at the intersection of faith and Grit.”

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 21

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 22

Texas Book-aholic, June 23

Inklings and notions, June 24

For Him and My Family, June 25

deb’s Book Review, June 26

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 27

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, June 28 (Author Interview)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, June 28

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, June 29

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 30

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, July 1

cats in the cradle blog, July 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 2

Rebecca Tews, July 3

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, July 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Susan is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10dbc/faces-of-courage-celebration-tour-giveaway