Widowhood Author Interview and GIVEAWAY!

About the Book

Book: widowhood

Author: Mary Bruce

Genre: Personal Growth

Release Date: May 12, 2020

A woman may have many names and many titles, but “widow” is not necessarily one she plans for. And when the unexpected happens, she is thrust into the role of being the captain of her ship, the decision-maker, and the one solely responsible for the direction of her and her family’s future. The emotions a widow experiences as she faces her life from this new position of aloneness are as varied and unique as each widow is. But what all widows share is a calling to be a leader in the midst of the chaos of the death of their husbands.

In Widowhood: A Calling to Leadership, Mary Bruce encourages widows to embrace their new role with hope and to unashamedly rely on the resources God provides to sustain them through his Spirit and through his body, the church. She illuminates for church leaders how to direct and mentor widows in their church families and how to provide these women with opportunities to express their new God-given calling of leadership.

This book will give you a fresh perspective on widowhood. It will help widows to see the energy they possess as fuel for godly leadership, and it will help church leaders to see their widows as esteemed gifts instead of burdens.

Click HERE to get your copy!

About the Author

Mary Bruce is a registered nurse, a former homeschooling mother, and a widow since the weekend before 9/11. Born and raised in Waterbury, Connecticut, she still resides there and works as an associate pastor. In the early 1990s, she initiated a grassroots movement to pray in Connecticut on the National Day of Prayer. Since then she has served as a state coordinator for the National Day of Prayer Task Force and is currently its National Area Leader for the nine northeast states.

More from Mary

Have you ever wanted to wake up one morning with a new start, a brand new start?

I can say that, during the 2001/2002 school year, for 360 of 365 days that is exactly what I learned to do, wake up with a new start. Mine was the school of hard knocks. After 9/11, there were many of us who found ourselves on a daily automatic wake-up call before sunrise. No alarm clock was involved. Perhaps it was the stress of a new start for so many. It’s not like we went to bed super early so we could wake up early. Sleeping just wasn’t the same.

For me, by the time daylight started , I was already sitting on the steps of our back porch, waiting to greet the day, watching the eastern skies over the 5 acre mowed field behind our house. Each morning I would grab a cup of coffee, my journal, a pen and my Bible, wrap myself in winter coat and blankets and sit there waiting: waiting on the sunrise, acknowledging the earth’s stillness, waiting for some revelation from God or insight into my own life situation. It was not a worrisome time, that came later in the day. It was just a sitting and waiting time. Even my reading would have to wait until the dawn’s early light grew sufficient to see the print. There was nothing to interrupt, to distract from that alone time of solitude and meditation.

Then, like a shot in the dark, the 7am bell would ring out from high school across the street, a roar of automobile sounds would drift over the house, and the magic quiet spell would be broken.

In those early moments, I saw things I had been too busy to notice before. In spring, I watched fog roll over the field, literally roll on the grass from east to west, from the field to the road. In summer, I noticed nearly a whole year of early mornings without pouring rain. Pouring rain was my only hindrance to sitting outside. In autumn, I saw a female doe pulling apples off the low branches and her 3 young charges dancing on hind legs trying to reach the apples. In winter, I realized that I could sit out in freezing weather, when I did not even like to walk from the house to the car in the cold. I learned to take the outward opening storm door off before the snow fell, so that I could just open the inside door and step out. I said, “Good morning” to the Maker of the universe as my first spoken words of the day.

I don’t think I was alone. 2001 was a hard year for many widows. I was fortunate to spend each start of the day with the Maker, appreciating his faithfulness, which is new every morning – a new start. “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” NLT Lam. 3:23

Author Interview

When/how did you decide to become a writer?

At age 22, while on a nursing job interview, I was asked to write out my 1 year, 5 year, 10 year, 20 year and 50 year goals.  I could add well and knew that by age 72 I would not want to be lifting patients off stretchers, so I thought of what I could still do at age 72 and writing seemed less physically straining.

Which author has most influenced your own writing?

Two authors have influenced me most:  C.S.Lewis and Lynn Austin

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t know what a writing quirk is.

What drew you to the time period that you write about?

I love history and believe that by journaling we each can document a part of history. I love to read books about life between 1850-1900.

Who was/is your biggest inspiration?

Dorothy Gilman

Describe your book in five words.

Giving permission to change perspectives.

What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

Up before or at 6am daily, personal prayer and devotion time, writing from 8:30/9a until 11:30 or so.  On some days, writing from 10a-2p

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

A plotter

Do you have a favorite or special place to write?

Kitchen table.

What are your hobbies?

Cooking, prayer-walking, piano worship.

What is your favorite book?

The Bible.

Do you prefer traditional books, ebooks, or audiobooks?

Audiobooks.

Do you have a favorite Bible verse, or is there a particular Bible story that really resonates with you?

Mark 5:19,20 tells Jesus response to the demoniac who was delivered of the demons and wanted to follow Jesus. “And he (Jesus) did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you. And he (the delivered demoniac) went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.”(NASB)   Another version, the KJV says  ”he began to publish…..”   This was an affirmation of God’s desire for me.

Is there a particular literary period that you’re drawn to (Regency, Victorian, Romantic, Modernism, etc.)? Why?

The Romantic Period, especially American writings of how they lived out what was set before them in our American government. I love this nation and believe that the birth of our nation was unlike any other on this earth.

lf you could live inside a book, which one would it be?

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin.

If you could meet one author, living or passed, who would it be?

Lynn Austin

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Journal everyday of your life, even if all you can write is the date. You will be writing history from your perspective as you comment on what is happening in your lifetime.

Blog Stops

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, September 5

Beauty in the Binding, September 6 (Author Interview)

Inklings and notions, September 7

Through the Fire Blogs, September 8 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, September 8

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 9

For the Love of Literature, September 10 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, September 11

For Him and My Family, September 12

Simple Harvest Reads, September 13 (Author Interview)

By The Book, September 14 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, September 14

Artistic Nobody, September 15 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)

Sara Jane Jacobs, September 16

Locks, Hooks and Books, September 17

Ashley’s Bookshelf, September 18

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Mary is giving away the grand prize package of a $20 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

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/fffe/widowhood-celebration-tour-giveaway