Author Interview - Laura Jensen Walkerby Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger 26 Jun 2008 10:00 AM I recently reviewed a poignant and touching book entitled "Reconstructing Natalie." I'm delighted to bring you an interview with the author of that book, Laura Jensen Walker. Laura, your novel is the story of a young woman who undergoes a double mastectomy for breast cancer. You yourself are a breast cancer survivor. Was writing Natalie's story difficult for you, or was it theraputic? Writing Natalie really wasn't difficult because I'd already written a non-fiction book about my cancer experience a few years ago called 'Thanks for the Mammogram! (Fighting Cancer with Faith, Hope & a Healthy Dose of Laughter)' so I'd already gone through the difficult--and therapeutic--part when I wrote that. Natalie is fairly young to have breast cancer. How old were you when you were diagnosed? I was thirty-five when I was diagnosed (and married--still am--to an extremely supportive husband) and I purposely made Natalie twenty-seven and single. I speak about breast cancer to health groups, women's groups, cancer fundraisers, etc. around the country and more and more as I spoke, I was meeting young women in their twenties diagnosed with this difficult disease. Some mentioned how their husbands or boyfriends left them because they couldn't handle it, and I wanted to give voice to these brave young women and to honor them with Natalie--to show what it's like to go through this as a single woman, and the unique challenges they face. I didn't realize how much the disease was affecting the younger generation now. Thanks for sharing that. Natalie relies on her faith to see her though the tough times. How did faith play a part in your recovery? Faith, and humor, played a major part in my recovery, just as it did Natalie's. I'll never forget a lonely, terrifying night in the hospital at 3 a.m. after my second chemo treatment when I confronted the very real possibility that I might die from the cancer. I'd never felt so alone or so scared. I grabbed my Bible from the hospital nightstand and began frantically paging through the Psalms, crying out to God, "Help me, Help me." And he did. He comforted me with the words of Psalm 18: "The cords of death entangled me, the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called to the Lord, I cried to my God for help . . . He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes who were too strong for me." I continued reading through the Psalms, and Psalms 142 and 143 also comforted. As I wrote in Thanks for the Mammogram: "In that moment my fear was gone and was replaced instead by a wonderful sense of absolute peace. I knew with a complete, unshakeable assurance that my Lord would rescue me. I didn't know how, only that he would. Whether that meant healing me or taking me home to be with him, I was no longer afraid. For I belonged to the Lord... Yes, death could claim my cancer-ravaged and chemo-riddled body, but it could never touch my cancer-free soul. The Lord promised that he would never leave me or forsake me and he never has..." That's beautiful, Laura. Thank you for illustrating how faith can help us through even the darkest trials. We'll continue our talk with award-winning novelist Laura Jensen Walker tomorrow. In the meantime, you can visit her at her website, here. Related Blogs: Are You Well-Informed about Breast Cancer? There's Still Time to Think Pink How You Can Fight Breast Cancer Learn more about Tristi Pinkston  I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006. Relevantmedia tags User Comments adam-finch (125) 26 Jun 2008 11:37 AMThat is beautiful. I love the Psalms, they are so inspirational and beautifully written. Adam http://adam-finch.eachday.com  Tristi Pinkston (10839) 26 Jun 2008 12:32 PMI love the Psalms too -- they are written from the heart and that always reaches my heart as well. Discuss this article
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