Introducing ‘The Healing’ …

In today’s blog post, I’m delighted to be introducing you to Joy Margetts and her wonderful new novel, ‘The Healing’, which has a powerful back story behind it.

Here’s all you need to know to persuade you to buy a signed paperback copy directly from Joy’s website …

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• Please tell us a bit about yourself. 

I am a fifty-something mother of two grown children, with one newly arrived grandchild. My husband and I, and a feisty Jack Russell dog, live together on the beautiful North Wales Coast, with stunning views from our home of sea and mountains. In a previous existence I was a nurse/midwife, but I left that to pursue other things. Local church is very important to me, and I have the privilege of being able to regularly teach the Word of God, and run our very own in-house Bible Academy. I have always loved writing but, never in my wildest dreams, did I ever believe that I would write a book that would be published.

• What inspired you to write your book? 

The story is a fictional tale. It came to me, almost as a download, whilst I sat in the ruins of a Cistercian Abbey on a sunny summer day, back in 2019. I was enjoying the deep peace and serenity of the moment, and wondering, in conversation with God, whether the Abbey communities of the past had been places where some, at least, could have come and found healing for their souls. The answer I heard was a whispered ‘yes’.

So the story came. A medieval knight, wounded physically, emotionally and spiritually, finds himself rescued from a French roadside ditch, by a kind Cistercian monk. In order to return to his homeland of Wales incognito, Philip de Braose, aided by his new friend, Brother Hywel, disguises himself as a monk. He finds himself on a journey where he not only becomes immersed in the Cistercian world, but also comes to terms with his pain, reconnects with the God he had long ago abandoned, and experiences a deep and profound healing: mind, body and soul. Philip then gets the opportunity to restart his life and live it the way God had always intended him to live it. A changed man with a renewed purpose.

Lockdown 2020 gave me the time and space to finally get the book written.

• How did you decide on the title, ‘The Healing’? 

I knew, almost as soon as I began writing it, that my book was going to be called ‘The Healing’.

It’s a story of one man’s healing, but it’s also so much more, because it’s also the story of my own healing. I could write this book because it came straight out of my own experience. The truths that Hywel shares with Philip are the things I had to learn, and re-learn, during one of the most painful times of my life.

Eight years ago, I was happy with life. My children were reaching adulthood and beginning to fly the nest. I had a loving husband, a part-time job that I loved, and I was actively involved in local church, with a God-given teaching ministry, which I relished. Then, out of the blue, everything changed. I became ill with what was later diagnosed as ME (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and my world, as I knew it, was turned upside down.

I won’t bore you with the details, but it was as if I hit a wall, emotionally and spiritually, and I could not find God in it at all. The sense of betrayal was real. I had always trusted Him, and known His faithfulness throughout my life. I had suffered and, indeed, experienced healing before. But this time I did not have the strength to fight, to even believe in His goodness, any more.

Despite how I felt, God had not abandoned me. He proved that by the loving people who surrounded me with their kindness, who prayed when I could not, and who spoke words of truth with love: healing words.

At the end of each chapter of ‘The Healing’ are verses from the Bible. Each one is special to me, because these are some of the words and promises, which I was gently reminded of during that time. The Word of God became my safe place, especially when my mind was under attack. Every day, I read what I could; the words from Scripture gave me strength, and God used them to do a healing work in me.

Slowly and gently, graciously and lovingly, God restored my broken spirit, and my wounded soul. He also did a physical healing work in me that is still ongoing. Now I can live a much less restricted life. Now I can write!

I found even the writing process to be a healing one. Remembering all the things that God had taught me and reminded me. Enjoying revisiting those hope-filled promises. And realising, with joyful amazement, just how far I had come. When I had finished writing, it was God, I believe, who prompted me to send it off to a publisher.

• Please can you give us three reasons why we should read your book?

(1) Because it has been described as, ‘impossible to read without encountering hope’.

One of the first people to read the book described it this way. I very much wanted my book to carry a message of hope, and I believe it does. During the early stages of my illness I fought the very real fight against despair. A good friend lovingly reminded me that I had a choice. I knew God. I knew the Word of God and His promises. I had to choose in that moment to believe what God had said to me, and about me; to trust Him for my present and for my future, and to choose hope over despair. So that I began to do. Daily. Some days it was an act of will, devoid of any emotion, but it began to take effect. I went back to the word of God and found promises, and claimed them for myself. I chose to hope, and that became the key to the rest of my healing journey.

(2) Because it is a story of redemption.

God is a God of redemption. He gives us back what is stolen from us – and even more so. In the story I have written, God not only rebuilds Philip’s life, but gives him more than he could ever have imagined, restores more than he lost. My own story is also one of redemption. God has used everything that I have been through. He has given me new life and purpose. He has enabled me to write a story from my experiences, and gifted me with the gift of a book to share with others. If He has done it for me, He can do it for you, whatever it is you are facing. Nothing is wasted with God.

(3) Because it is a really good story.

It is full of lots of lovingly researched historic details, and set in the beautiful landscapes of Wales. (I’m a secret history buff!) If you like your Cadfael, or even a bit of Shardlake, I think you’ll enjoy my book!

• Please tell us how we can get hold of a signed copy.

Signed paperback copies of ‘The Healing’ are available from the Joy Margetts website, where you will also find more information about the book and how it came to be written.

‘The Healing’ is also widely available from online booksellers – but only unsigned copies – including Eden Books, Aslan Books, Amazon and Waterstones.

Alternatively, you could support your local bookstores!

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As ever, all comments would be welcome below, along with any specific questions you may have for Joy.

Photo by Anna Gru on Unsplash