I wrote you a book.

My new book, Bend: When Life Dares You to Break, is written for you. Yes, you. And me. And all the rest of us who could use a hand when life’s pressures build up. Have you ever felt frustrated, discouraged, maybe ready to quit? Bend will not let you quit. I will not let you quit.

I wrote Bend because in my decades of interviewing people all over the planet, I discovered something remarkable. We all face challenges and adversity. Yet some people seem to bounce back easier. What fuels these individuals to refuse to break and move forward?

Bend is my quest as a journalist to answer two key questions: 1) How do we come back from adversity? 2) Do we really need God to help us right ourselves again? And your opportunity to see what you think the answers are.

You Have a Bending Point

Everyone has a bending point. Do you know yours? A bending point is that off-kilter edge where you feel “enough is enough,” or you are weary from another pressure, another disappointment.

Perhaps you’re close to the brink of giving up right now. Or someone you know seems to be teetering there. Bend is here to remind you that you were designed to bend and press onward. Again and again, even if you don’t think you can. As I write in chapter six, “When you feel your life is falling apart—or, you simply have nothing left—this is you bending.”

Chapter after chapter, I introduce you to courageous sojourners, but not the usual lot—a wounded veteran, a Wiccan devotee, Holocaust survivors, mothers of children with profound disabilities, and more—who have uncovered secrets to bending, to resilience through the unimaginable.

Daniel Gil, professional Ninja athlete, finalist on American Ninja Warrior, and motivational speaker says, “Bend instills a newfound gratitude and appreciation for life, but couples it with an unspoken commission to live with purpose and resolve.”

Together, you and I will explore how any of us can come back from tough times. Are determination and endurance enough? In this riveting book, I interview both people buoyed by faith and those spiritually resistant. The seasoned reporter in me probes past the “I made it through,” to ask the cringing questions, the stepping through the unevenness of regaining one’s footing.

How You Can Begin Again

Along the way, Bend shows you that life is meshed with battle-round endurance for all of us. You are challenged to explore past the whys and what-nows to the…how do you begin again? Bend shows you it is possible to emerge from trials with fresh strength and resolve—swaying, leaning, and bending, but not breaking.

Since I wrote this for you, I’d love for you to be the first to order your copies of Bend right here on my website. I’ll personally sign each book and write a message to you and anyone else you’d like to encourage among your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

The book also has a bonus section where I invite readers to dig deeper to see God right in the trenches with us. Oh, and check out my short video that shares a bit more about why I wrote this book…for you.          

                       (above right: Ilana, a hidden child Holocaust survivor from Bend, chapter 8)

What Readers Are Already Saying

“I am so mad at you. It is now midnight and I am still reading Bend. I just can’t put this book down!”   —Deb K.

“WOW!  The bravery of these people in Bend is inspiring. I read thrillers, mysteries, and sci-fi mostly. But the honesty, bravery and straightforwardness of these chapters have made it quite an interesting read.”  —Steve R.

“Masterfully written, Bend is one captivating book that will not let you give up. Bend is a definite page-turner, and it resonates with my own passion to inspire others to just take the next one step  . . . then the next. Beth bravely shows us that what happens to us does not need to define us.”   —Ginger Martin, CEO American National Bank, Oakland Park, Florida