Tag: family
Poet Talk: My Soul to Keep by Sarah Merritt Ryan
I met with Sarah Merritt Ryan recently to discuss her upcoming book My Soul to Keep.
Have a listen or watch and listen.
About the Book
My Soul to Keep is a deeply personal and spiritually resonant collection of sonnets that explores what it truly means to walk with God through the darkest seasons of life. Written primarily from a Christian perspective, these poems offer an intimate portrait of faith — not as a smooth and effortless journey, but as a living, breathing relationship that is tested, stretched, and ultimately strengthened through suffering.
At the heart of this collection is a profound truth: hardship does not have to destroy us. Long-suffering, when carried in faith, becomes a crucible that deepens our connection to God and shapes us into something more resilient, more compassionate, and more whole. Faith here is not static — it ebbs and flows, wavers and steadies — and that honest portrayal makes these sonnets feel achingly real.
Many of these poems are written from a woman’s perspective, and several speak with quiet courage to the wounds left by broken relationships and the pain inflicted by others. Yet even these most tender and difficult places are held within a larger story of survival and grace.
What ultimately distinguishes this collection is its vision of the final destination of enduring trial — not merely survival, but praise. To give thanks to God in the aftermath of suffering is portrayed here as both an act of healing and an act of liberation. Praise cleanses the heart of bitterness, loosens the grip of the past, and opens the soul to receive what God has always intended: wholeness, peace, and renewed purpose.
My Soul to Keep is for anyone who has ever wrestled with God and refused to let go.
Get your copy: https://www.prolificpulse.com/sarahmerrittryan
About the Author
Sarah Merritt Ryan is a North Carolina native who writes from a Christian perspective on faith and suffering, and this collection of sonnets is her first book. She is a member of the United Church of Christ. Her faith has helped her survive many trials, including her battle with schizophrenia.
Through patience, a refusal to give up, and believing there could be a bigger picture for her life, even when she could not see it, she persisted and did make a full recovery, going on to get married, become a mother, and rebuild her career. She has been symptom-free for 14 years while on medication for life, after having three psychotic breaks in two years.
Through a desire to help others have a better emotional experience than she did, she is now also a writer, speaker, and advocate for emotional recovery from psychotic disorders. Her writings on mental health include poetry, blogging, memoir, fiction, and academic publications.
She has a blog on Psychology Today called Healing Mind: My journey to cognitive and emotional recovery, which is used as training material for resident psychiatrists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation (STEP) Program and is republished on the UNC School of Medicine website. She is a Certified Peer Support Specialist who works for the UNC Center for Community Excellence in Mental Health.
She also blogs for Nami.org and Life Effects, a blog by Teva Pharmaceuticals. She has been published twice in Writer’s Digest on topics related to mental illness. She has been published twice in the academic journal, Schizophrenia Bulletin Open. She has a full-length memoir in the works.
She is also a public speaker and NAMI volunteer who was named Hometown Hero in 2024 by the North Carolina Women’s Courage Professional Soccer Team, Lenovo, and NAMI Wake County for her mental health advocacy work in the Raleigh-Durham area. She is also the Parent Advocate for the Wake County Public School System, representing parents living with mental illness.
She has a degree in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Science degree in Communication from NCSU.
Her website is sarahmerrittryan.com
Book Launch
If you are in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, you are welcome to join the Book Launch. Registration
Echoes of Destiny – Short Stories of the Unexpected by Glennie Moore is Now Released!
About the Author
Glennie Moore is a semi-retired substitute teacher who enjoys writing Christian fiction, weaving elements of the gospel in every story. She holds a B.A. in English from North Carolina State University and a Master of Divinity in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She enjoys teaching Sunday School and Bible study as well as family gatherings, photography and observing nature.
About the Book
In Echoes of Destiny – Short Stories of the Unexpected, nothing is as it appears and everything changes once destiny arrives – unannounced. This collection of short stories and a novella explore what happens when life takes an irreversible turn and it’s the stranger we meet, the enemy we fear or the unseen spirits who guide us toward our destiny. Journey through time where the past collides with the present and the ordinary with the extraordinary.
In Inside the Flame, a woman escaping an abusive marriage seeks refuge in a cabin by the lake until an intruder on the property shatters her peace. But the stranger she holds at gunpoint rekindles a love she thought was lost forever.
In Unlikely Allies, two feuding coworkers are stranded on a desolate country road only to be “rescued” by a dangerous hate group. Can they put aside their grievances and trust one another in what becomes a literal fight for their lives.
In Picture Perfect, travel photographer, Kayla, on assignment in the beautiful Bahamas meets a grieving widower with his young daughter and finds unexpected love. But his heart is lost in the past until a benevolent spirit reveals the love they secretly share – in the perfect picture.
In The Unquiet Guest, Shoney Harris, owner of a bed and breakfast restored from an old plantation home, is visited by the ghost of an enslaved man seeking justice for a centuries old murder he never committed. Only Shoney can free him from the hidden lies of the past.
In Echoes of Destiny, the title novella, two infants who miraculously survive a tragic accident capture the townspeople in a cultic devotion and a prophecy declaring them bound by divine intervention. Decades later, their paths unexpectedly cross and they discover the destiny the townspeople spoke over them. Feeling the heavy mantle of expectation placed upon their heads, they must decide if their undeniable connection is one of true love or the lingering echoes of a past that won’t let go.
In this collection, stories of mystery, revelation, love, and the twist of fate, takes us on a journey that proves it is the unexpected that truly defines us.
What Others Have to Say
In Echoes of Destiny by Glennie Moore, strangers become lifelines, enemies become allies, and lives collide in unexpected ways when ordinary people face extraordinary moments. A woman frightened of an abusive marriage finds unexpected comfort beside a lonely lake. Two rivals trapped in a nightmare must depend on each other to survive. Mysterious prophecy binds two souls across decades. Filled with suspense, romance, heartbreak, and hope, this collection will leave readers questioning whether destiny is written or created by the choices we make.
Munmun Samanta author of Yellow Chrysanthemum
Echoes of Destiny by Glennie Moore is aptly named. As you read each story, you recognize a crossing of the future into the present. Each character has a specific purpose of revealing the secrets of the past and showing how they affect the present and the future. Each story shows the supernatural part of life that is out of our control. The collection of short stories and the novella will keep the lover of a love story tuned in.
G. Elaine Sneed – Customer Contact Specialist
These short stories are exceptionally well written, and the way suspense is built is breathtaking. Each story is phenomenal in its own right. Which one was my favorite? Honestly, I don’t know. Every time I finished one, I was convinced it was my favorite… until I read the next. Each story brought something fresh and compelling that made it hard to choose just one. Scripture was woven in perfectly.
What stood out most to me is how these stories highlight the value of relationships. They remind us not to minimize their importance. When relationships begin with strain, they can only get better. And when they begin well, they establish a standard for what greatness in relationships can look like. These stories beautifully echo what Glennie Moore says: “It is the unexpected that truly defines us.” That idea lingers long after the stories end. It causes me to reflect on my own relationships. I found myself asking: What will I do when the unexpected brings me joy? And how will I respond when my relationships bring unexpected sorrow?
Lori Jones Moss – Author of My Heavenly Father’s Eyes: A Relationship-Building Study, Mental Health and Professional Life Coach
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