Rebekah Clearwater wants people to know how her faith has helped her through some difficult times in her life.
Clearwater, a former Estevan resident now living in Saskatoon, has written Life Abundant & Free, published by Winnipeg-based Word Alive Press. In an interview with Lifestyles, she said her Christian faith has always been a big part of her life, and she hopes that shines through in her first book.
“That’s really what the book is about,” said Clearwater.
Clearwater shares her battles with anorexia five years ago, and how she thought she could find satisfaction from having a smaller body, or having what some think would be the best body.
“I thought that I could find satisfaction in my appearance, and I found that I couldn’t,” said Clearwater. “No matter what weight I was, I was never satisfied, and I really needed to find that in Christ.”
Her faith helped her share her story about anorexia.
“If it was just to write about it for nothing, then maybe it would be a little bit difficult,” said Clearwater.
But the book is also a reflection on how her faith has shaped her life, and how she believes it can impact the lives of the reader.
Clearwater admits that she didn’t know when to stop writing, since it is about her life.
“You can add a lot into it, so every day I would be encouraged, and I’d need to add more into every chapter. The challenge was knowing when it was finished and when I was actually done.”
After a trip to Kenya, she ended up adding about 10,000 words to the book, so it clearly wasn’t finished at that point, Clearwater said, but now she is pleased with where the 150-page memoir ends.
Clearwater didn’t have an extensive literary background before she started working on Life Abundant & Free. She is a physical therapy assistant at the City Hospital in Saskatoon. But she started writing five years ago because of those struggles with anorexia.
“I had searched online for a blog that was centred in Christ that would really encourage me, and just help me to get better and to heal, and I just could not find a blog anywhere that was worth reading,” said Clearwater. “A lot of it was just self-help, pick yourself up by your own bootstraps kind of blogs.”
At that time, Clearwater decided to create her own blog.
From there, she attended a women’s conference in Saskatoon, and Word Alive Press announced they had a contest where people could send in a manuscript and get a contract with them to have a book published.
“I never thought of writing a book or anything like that before, so it was dropped into my lap that this is the next step to take,” said Clearwater.
She approached her project manager, who helped her get excited about the project. But she thought it would take several years to write. It was written and edited in four months.
“I didn’t win the contest, but the publishers ended up sending me an e-mail the day the results were out, and said ‘We love your writing, we’d love to publish you, even though you didn’t win the contest. We’d like to offer you a discount, and if you would like to publish with us, we’d love that.’”
From there, Clearwater started working on the book in December 2016. It was released in February, and has been well-received.
“It’s a hybrid publisher that I went with, so I do some of the sales, and there are book stores that sell my book,” said Clearwater. “It’s been good for sales, and it’s been really encouraging just how many people have wanted a book, and the support and love I have received through it all.”
A book launch took place at Elim Church in Saskatoon a couple of weeks ago, which attracted about 80 people. Clearwater shared her story, answered questions from the audience and signed copies of the book.
Clearwater is pleased with how the book turned out.
“It’s really just my heart in the book, and what God has taught me through the last five years of my life, and through the struggles I’ve had, not just with anorexia, but struggles with the lacks that I feel I have,” said Clearwater.
It can be tough being away from her family, and not having a family of her own, but Clearwater said she doesn’t view those as aspects that are lacking in her life any longer.
People who have read the book have found it encouraging.
“I write as if you’re right across the room from me,” said Clearwater. “So basically when I was writing this book, I would go to coffee shops, and I would just write, and it felt like I was just encouraging a friend the whole entire time. My co-worker said it’s very inviting.”
She hopes that the reader will be encouraged as they read her story, and they will reflect on it afterwards.
Most of it was written on her phone, and then transferred over to her computer.
The process of writing Life Abundant & Free appears to have given Clearwater a desire to write some more. She is now exploring gifts that she didn’t know existed. She is working on a few different projects at the moment, including one fictional book, although it is based on experiences.
All proceeds from the sale of Life Abundant & Free will be directed towards an orphanage in Kenya named Valley Light Home. It has 30 kids, and seven years ago, her parents helped start the orphanage.
“That’s why it’s near and dear to my heart,” said Clearwater. “Three months ago, I actually went and visited them, and met the kids and everything like that for the first time.”
A local launch for her book will be held on May 26 at the Estevan Gospel Chapel, starting at 7 p.m.
Life Abundant & Freee can be purchased for $14.99. Copies are available locally by contacting Verlyn Clearwater at 306-634-6993.
