Ready to launch another best seller, my guest this morning is Alice Wisler. Please welcome her by leaving a comment at the end of this post.

Born and raised in Japan as a missionary kid, author, instructor and speaker, Alice J. Wisler now lives in Durham, North Carolina. She is the author of five inspirational novels (Rain Song, How Sweet It Is, Hatteras Girl, A Wedding Invitation and Still Life in Shadows) and the new devotional, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache (Leafwood Publishers). Since the death of her four-year-old son, Daniel, Alice has been an advocate for writing through heartache. She teaches Writing the Heartache workshops both online and across the country. She writes for Open to Hope, a grief organization, and is affiliated with The Compassionate Friends and Bereaved Parents/USA. Her BlogTalkRadio segments of her own show, Writing the
Heartache, are popular with the bereavement community.

Alice graduated from Eastern Mennonite University in 1983 with a B.S. in Social Work and has worked at group homes and taught English-as-a-Second-Language in a refugee camp in the Philippines and at a school in Japan.Alice enjoys boating, acting, singing Karaoke, cooking Asian food, the Carolina coast, and daily walks. Much of Getting Out of Bed in the Morning was inspired and written as she walked in parks and neighborhoods in Durham, NC.Workshops and Topics Alice Presents

 Writing the Heartache

 Writing the Psalms

 Developing Memorable and Fun Characters (for your novel)

 Journey through Life’s Losses

 Broken Psalms

 Building Self-Esteem After the Death of a Child

 Surviving the Cancer Death of a Child

A New Devotional of Comfort in Heartache

 

Written in devotional format, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning is a companion for those going through sorrow associated with loss—whether brought to the journey through the death of a loved one, failing health, job loss, broken relationships, or weakened family ties. Getting Out of Bed in the Morning is ideal for:

 Parents who have had a child die
 Those faced with an illness, financial dilemma or troubled relationship
 Those desiring to be sustained on their journey by God’s comfort, love, joy and forgiveness
 Those who yearn to incorporate journaling and prayer into their daily routines
 Those who find beauty in walking and seek unique ways to pray and meditate as they exercise.

What others are saying about Getting Out of Bed in the Morning:

“You will be changed as you read this book—a book of grief and comfort. Written without easy answers, but with gritty, courageous prayer, wrestling like Jacob with God’s angel.” ~ Eugene H Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Recent College, Vancouver, B.C.; translator of The Message

“Hope stirs fresh in Getting Out of in the Morning as Alice Wisler tenderly challenges the remnants of our grieving hearts to a healing journey. This book is a safe place to reconcile painful losses—a graceful guide through the uncharted and often complex landscape of grief and loss. Alice’s heart whispers an understanding that comes only from one who has tasted consuming heartache, yet uncovered the hope of God’s sustaining grace.” ~ Jo Ann Fore, Author, Founder of WriteWhereItHurts.org

“Getting Out of Bed in the Morning brings a beautiful blend of practical steps with powerful messages from God’s Word. The invitation to action at the end of each chapter provides vibrant hope for the reader. Each stage of the book brings back the confidence that indeed we will wake up tomorrow—renewed and filled with God’s grace—so the day will be shining with a new peace and a sweet kind of joy.” ~ Janet Perez Eckles, author of Simply Salsa: Dancing Without Fear at God’s Fiesta

“Don’t look for clichés or platitudes or easy answers in this book, but take solace in a companion and trustworthy guide who can help direct us fearlessly through the valley of the shadow of death. Wisler has the unique capacity to come alongside us in our seasons of darkness and to offer both the solidarity of a fellow sufferer, and the insistence that hope is reasonable, because God is still redeeming the brokenhearted. ” ~ Eric E. Peterson, Pastor, Colbert Presbyterian Church, Colbert, WA

Behind the Scenes of Getting Out of Bed in the Morning

Some works come easy. Others take time. Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache is one that took root in my broken heart when my four-year-old son Daniel died in 1997. But it has taken until recently for the anguish in my heart and mind to come to a point where I could write a devotional that focuses more on God’s provision and grace and less on me and my despair.The book of forty devotionals is about embracing a God who sustains us through our losses—death of loved ones, termination of employment, illness, and broken relationships. It offers insight, tips, prayers and scripture—all in gentle ways—to help readers want to seek a God who loves, a God who is for us. ~ Alice J. Wisler

Getting Out of Bed in the Morning headed to the families who lost loved ones in school shooting

The outpouring for the families in grief and loss from the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT has been amazing. People are eager to donate books as an act of love to those mourning the loss of loved ones. Originally the plan was to send a book, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections of Comfort in Heartache, to Sandy Hook for each family who had been affected by the
tragedy in the loss of a child—young (student) or adult (teacher). That was a meaningful act of comfort, and thanks to each of you, that goal has been accomplished! ~ From Alice’s Patchwork Quilt Blog. Details of the Comfort to Sandy Hook Project are here:

http://alicewisler.blogspot.com/2012/12/update-on-sandy-hook-comfort-project.html

 

Healing Ink: Writing into Your Grief

By Alice J. Wisler

A weeping willow tree, one flowery journal, two pens (in case one ran out of ink), and a box of Puffs tissues. Those objects stayed close beside me. In my early confusion over the loss of my son, these items never ignored my grief or told me to “get over it.”•

When it grew too dark to see underneath the stringy weeping willow, I carried my pen and journal inside a house that seemed too empty, and wrote some more. At night, I woke to grapple with turmoil, with the noises in my head, the flashbacks of the cancer ward, the cries of my son. I wrote the ugly words “why?” and “how come?” before I could sleep again.

I scribbled through myths and clichés. I unleashed resentment and longing. I addressed prayers to God.

And, surprisingly, I discovered. Some of the confusion slid away, some of the guilt abandoned me. There was nothing I could have done to save my four-year-old’s life. Even my love had not been strong enough to destroy that infection that flared inside his tiny body. I was human and really not as in control as I wanted to believe. I would have to live with that.

I began to understand the new me. She was a tower of strength and compassion; she was tender and vulnerable, realistic, with just the right touch of cynicism. She needed protection from too many plastic smiles; she could not go long without a hug or sharing a story about a blue-eyed boy with an infectious laugh.

My written words healed me. And I jumped at the opportunity to tell others. I’d found comfort and clarity. I smiled at my husband and three young children, and at last, I didn’t want to run my van over the cliff; I wanted to smell the peonies and taste the salt from the ocean on my skin.

The beauty about grief-writing is that no one has to read it. You don’t have to worry about a teacher correcting your spelling or grammar. There’s no grade, no pass or fail. No one cares if your letters are sloppy. It’s written by you and for you. And, yes, it works.

Use these tips to help write your heartache for healing, health and hope.

 Find a secluded place to write where you can think clearly without distraction.

 Write, at first, for your eyes only. It doesn’t have to be shared with anyone.

 Write to chart progress for you to read years down the road.

 Write with the feeling, “I will survive this.”

 Write to identify your emotions and feelings.

 Write to help solve some of the new situations you must now face.

 Think of your journal as a friend who never judges and who can never hurt you.

 Write your spiritual struggles.

 Write to rebuild your self-esteem and your self-confidence.