Chris Fabry and I go back 33 years. I was the first babysitter for his and Andrea’s first child while they took a parenting break to play tennis. An inexperienced babysitter, I was just glad Erin stayed asleep the entire tennis match! Our friendship goes beyond the parent/babysitter relationship, however. While Chris and I were broadcasting colleagues for many years, it was his writing career that I’ve really enjoyed watching.

It might be a surprise to some that he’s written over 70 books, some of which are children’s books. I got hooked on Chris’s writing when I read his book June Bug. When someone loves what they do and works hard at it, it’s always a joy to see them rewarded. Chris has been a Christy award nominee 6 times and twice, in 2009 and 2011, he found himself a Christy winner.

On the podcast this week we talk about his latest book, The Promise of Jesse Woods. What I always appreciate about Chris’s novels is the emotional depth and his willingness to delve into painful issues. Sometimes we need to move backward in order to move forward and we see that in The Promise of Jesse Woods as characters have no choice but to address and process pieces from their past in order to move forward into their future.

I hope you’ll check out this week’s podcast as we look at our own stories while digging into the story of Jesse Woods alongside Chris Fabry.

Happy Listening.