Thoughts from Dawn: The Release of One Way to Grace

It's here. It exists. It's out there in the world.

One Way to Grace has been released by our lovely publishers Ambassador International. You can buy it and everything. Somewhere right now, in all likelihood, a person I've never met, never seen, never conceived of, is reading the words I wrapped around the incredible stories of David Daly. Perhaps he or she feels less alone, less desperate, a little closer to a relationship with God. 

Two years, three composition notebooks, and more hours than I can count on Skype. It sounds like a lot, but in truth the whole production came down to one moment. One sentence... 

"I had heard of a place called Jerusalem, had read about the Mount of Beatitudes, and had studied the Sea of Galilee."

The first sentence I wrote for the book is the actual first sentence. (You'd maybe be shocked by the average number of times the first written sentence belongs smack in the middle of a piece, starting at the start is rather unusual, at least for me.) 

Sure, it has changed a little as the writing, editing, and publishing process went on, but the core of that one sentence remains untouched. It remains the strongest point of continued inspiration that I looked to over, and over again every time I felt stuck in a chapter or in my own mired thoughts. It remains, hands down, the grouping of words of which I am most proud. If Helen of Troy had a face that launched a thousand ships, then that little sentence has the words that launched One Way to Grace. 

I remember sitting at the restaurant where my husband was working, waiting for him to finish his shift, and brainstorming titles. I remember handwriting page after page of notes and chapter sections at that same restaurant. And now, I can look back soon and remember seeing One Way to Grace live on Amazon.com for the first time. (For the record, I yelped for joy and immediately called first my husband and then my mother.)

The purpose of David sharing his story, first with me so he could then share it with the world, was as a vehicle for hope, and light, and redemption. In a world filled with people looking to make some money or gain some fame by compiling their life into a book, the sheer purity of intention that David has would inspire any writer, any human. What I love most about David's story is that he can still see the humor in some of his less than savory adventures, not just the hard-learned lessons. I truly hope I captured the small moments of laughter that interspersed some of the more outlandish scenarios covered in the memoir. 

It was an artistic and spiritual privilege to translate the winding and musical stories of David's memory into this memoir. I will always find new inspiration and stories to tell thanks to what I've learned through David, and through the Bible he gifted me that I read quite often. More than that, though, I've been given the privilege of calling David Daly my friend.