Queen's Book Review: 1

Have you had a trial or multiple trials happen in your life that were extremely difficult to get through? Maybe you just couldn't understand why it was happening? Or maybe you were strong enough to face it and fight back? Or maybe not.


Being on Earth = Trials. It's a fact of life. We all have them, we all will have them and will until the day we die. Some are a little easier then others to get through while others bring out the worst in us and we find it very hard to get through it.


There's a religious nonfiction book I highly recommend that addresses trials but also how the people who were faced with them were able to look back and find the positive or the lesson learned. It's a compilation of short stories from several people. Its fitting title is- "Forged in the Refiner's Fire" by Candace Salima and Elizabeth Cheever.

In reading this book I found myself having sympathy, love, admiration, worry, sorrow and frustration. I had to read with a box of tissues to get through some of the stories. This book is amazing and a MUST READ for all of us humans who have to endure trial after trial. I found hope in these stories and I am confident you will to. These are stories from the heart—stories that have changed lives. From an unwanted painful divorce, to a debilitating injury, to a childless couple—many walks of life are examined.

I've chatted with Candace Salima {Elizebeth Cheever is taking care of a family emergency right now} for this review and have a series of questions I was interested in knowing and have posted them below for your reading enjoyment. After you've read my interview with Candace- there's a short video I have of her speaking about this book, please take a look. Also, one lucky and smart reader will have a chance to WIN a copy of this personally signed book in a contest I will hold here on my blog- Monday- June 30th!!

"Forged in the Refiner's Fire" is a compilation book that you put together with your friend, Elizabeth Cheever. How did the two of you come up with the idea for this book?

Initially, Elizabeth contacted me to help in compiling and writing for this book. When she broached the idea with me, it touched a part of my heart and I knew that I needed to help her with this book. Certainly, I've never pretended that all of us do not face trials and obstacles, of one kind or another, throughout our lives. What I found compelling was the opportunity we had to share with others they were not alone in their times of trouble. We also wanted to share how the Lord touches our lives, especially during times those times, and lifts that burden from us if will let Him.


How did you go about finding the contributors for the book?

We sent out emails to every single person each of us knew asking for stories of trial or tragedy, specifically seeking those who had drawn closer to the Lord in the process and accepting His aid in overcoming those obstacles. We also talked to everyone we knew and within weeks stories began to pour in. It was an incredible time as we read all the stories and sifted through which ones to use for the book. We wanted stories of great trial but most importantly we wanted stories where the people turned to the Lord and accepted His guidance through those perilous times.


What is the overall theme of the book?

Simply put, none of us was ever meant to walk these perilous paths alone. We are given these trials in order refine our spirits, indeed to overcome weakness and in the process let the Lord turn those weaknesses into strengths, as he did for Enos in the Book of Mormon. In the darkest of times that that bright light is Jesus Christ.


As you've spoken to these various people about their challenges and trials, did you notice any common elements in their stories?

Certainly, that each turned to the Savior. Each person whose story was included in the book grew from their experience and came to understand the bigger picture the Lord was trying to show them. Without question, we cannot consider every single trial as coming from the Lord because some things just happen or are the consequences of our own actions. But each person came to understand that there was someone, Jesus Christ, who was willing to shoulder that burden if they were willing to turn it over to him.


How did each of these people overcome their trials?

Each came to different paths and conclusions as they allowed the Lord to guide them. No one was perfect. No one traversed that path without mistake or concern. But each one turned to the Lord. How they did it is the part of the magnificence of the book.


Which story, other than your own, touched you the most?

Hazel Jensen’s. When her horse reared up and fell backward on her, crushing her pelvis my heart literally fell. I could not believe the suffering and pain that woman went through. And yet, I had met her after this happened and she was a cheerful, peaceful, absolutely delightful woman who, unbeknownst to me, was in great pain because of her crushing injuries. She’s had multiple back surgeries, as late as last year and yet continues to paint, write and serve her Savior, Jesus Christ


What is the main message you hope the readers of this book will take away?

We aren't alone. We were never meant to be alone. We will never suffer as the Savior had to in the Garden of Gethsemane. We will never be forced to face the trials of Job. But each of us will face trials, they are an inescapable part of life. But when the Savior said, "Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I shall give you rest," He meant every single word. Too many of us never turn to this incredible source of strength, knowledge and inspiration and it is this message I wish every ready to walk away with. You do not have to do this alone.


What are you working on now?

I'm working very hard to finish two manuscripts I began awhile ago. I deliberately took time off to care for my husband through the dangerous years of his kidney failure and subsequent transplant, which occurred this past April. Now, with the stress drastically reduced in our lives my muse moved back in and the stories are simply pouring out of my fingers and onto the computer screen. The first which will be finished is tentatively titled "Standing on the Fifth: The Long Road" and is co-authored with Merrill Osmond. The second book, entitled "Dreams Die Hard" which is the long-awaited sequel to "Out of the Shadows . . . Into the Light." It is my hope that one of these will be released by years end and the other in the first to second quarter of next year.


In getting to know you, Candace, I've found that you have such personal passion in so many people, projects and politics. How did this come about?

My parents are directly responsible for the woman I have become. As I have grown older, and I’m not that old, I have become increasingly educated on America, the Founding Fathers, as well as our Constitution; and, I greatly fear the direction this nation is heading. I passionately believe in the America founded in 1776 and the Republic which was formed. I vehemently oppose socialism and communism which is where our nation is headed. So yes, I stay informed and fight on whatever fronts I am able to. This is a legacy of my father who remembered the morning Hitler’s armies invaded his hometown of Amsterdam. He suffered terribly through WWII, enduring the loss of all freedom, even the freedom to walk down to the block to the next street, eventually ending up in a concentration camp. He was fond of saying, “Remember, Hitler was voted in too.”

My mother’s ancestors came to America in the 1500’s. It is by the blood, sweat and tears of my ancestors this nation was formed. With that knowledge and incredible heritage comes a desire to protect what they worked so hard to form and defend in every war since the Revolutionary War right up to the War on Terror. I will not face my ancestors one day with a shamed face and downcast eyes saying, “I’m sorry I was too busy to save what you worked so hard to give me, what you died for to give me.” I won’t do that. Instead I want to say, “I’ve done everything I can. I don’t know what else I could have done save this country you gave me. But thank you, thank you for your sacrifices, your sorrows, your tragedies and your deaths in the cause for freedom.”

The major driving force in my life is my love and testimony for our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I believe just as passionately in His gospel and the bone deep belief that if all citizens of mankind would live by the precepts, principles and practices of His gospel much of the world’s problems would simply dissipate. Because I know this, I share my testimony with any and all who would like to hear it. I love to study the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all its nuances, textures and scents. He is, without questions, the reason I get up and go on every day.

I want people to be happy and continually striving to return with honor to our heavenly home. Pretty much everything I do and everything I am revolves around that.


How do you give them all your heart and strength as you do?

How can I not, Autumn? How can I not?