Today I have a special guest and I am so thrilled about it.
Around the summer, Chris offered me the opportunity to read her first book and I can tell you that this was truly a beautiful gift. As soon as I started it, I felt closer to her, I felt like we were two friends, chatting around a good coffee, her telling me that all will be well and that I will make it through, whatever that “it” may be. And maybe for the first time, I believed all will be ok.
I am so happy she said “yes” to this short interview and I can’t wait to discover, with you, all about the first idea, the book, and what there’s between. Let’s start, ok!
- Could you please introduce yourself in a couple of words (for my readers)?
Sure thing! I’m Chris Carter and I have been writing over at TheMomCafe for about six years, with hopes to encourage my readers through topics of motherhood, faith, and living intentionally every day. I have two kids ages 10 and 13, and I am blessed to stay at home to care for them and do ALL the things I love. Much of my time is spent writing and reaching others through publishing my words on various online sites, moderating a large Christian bloggers FB group with three other beautiful women, and leading a women’s ministry and teen ministry out of my home. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be and anything else I’d rather be doing.
- When the idea of writing a self-help book about healing (and hope) did pop up in your head? What was your first aim? How long did it take for you to write it? And how did you organize yourself around this project? Any hard time you’d like to share with us all along the writing process? And a happy moment, that told you were on the right road?
It’s to me, quite an amazing story how my book came to be. I had felt a longing to write a book for some time, and didn’t have a clear direction on what to write about because my feeling was that the things I write about: Motherhood, faith, inspiration- are all topics that have countless books saturating the market. I didn’t feel I had anything more important to add to such a vast variety of really great literature on those subjects. I kept praying for clarity and guidance and for God to give me any ideas if I were to write a book. I knew it needed to be something unique and purposeful- but I really felt discouraged about what that could possibly be.
Then I had a pretty rough surgery, and during my recovery, I would try to write on the topics I usually focus on, but one evening I wrote a post “Ten Tips For A Woman In A Leg Cast” filled with the real deal on how hard it is to experience this type of recovery. I remember vividly, feeling like it was such a waste of time, because I never had written anything like that before- and I surely thought no one would want to read it.
As the months went by, that one post kept getting more and more traffic on my blog. I started to get messages and comments from people that were going through similar situations thanking me for writing it. During this time, I was still praying for God to give me an idea for a book, and this post kept gaining more traffic. I thought this was very interesting. So several months later, I had another surgery to take some screws out of my toe joint, and I was back up on the couch. I decided to write another post similar to that one, to see if it too, would be received the same way. “Twenty Truths About Life After Foot and Ankle Surgery” was gaining ground with the other post.
Then it hit me. I could write a book to help not only these women, but any woman who has to face recovery! I realized I had some experience in this area and could hopefully offer some insight and encouragement on this topic. I then searched for any books like this, and there was NOT ONE.
Huh.
Answer to prayer?
You bet!
I knew I needed to write it.
The first draft wasn’t hard to write at all. It came straight from my heart and my experience- but months leading up to it were spent brewing up ideas and chapter structure and how I wanted the progression of the book to go. The editing process was brutal. I kept seeing things I wanted to change, improve, clarify, and sometimes completely revise. After rounds and rounds of edits, and then a few more rounds from my editor…
I was finally at peace with it. I didn’t want it to be a complicated read, because I know that people in this painful place need and it’s not a lot of content to manage. I wanted to touch on the challenges people can face and offer them new ways to approach their healing with purposeful ideas and insights that were helpful.
I haven’t read it again since. I think I’m too afraid I’ll catch something else I want to change!

- You wrote it for every woman dealing with injury, illness or surgery – did you realized that your words would touch other hearts, people like me, dealing with the “normal” and daily ups and downs of life?
I honestly didn’t expect that my book would speak to women who weren’t in some sort of recovery, and oh what a wonderful surprise it has been to see people receiving it in this light! It makes sense, because we all experience challenges in how we face difficult situations and life offers them regularly, yes? I think much of my book can easily translate into a general encouragement to view life with intention, purpose, and hope. I’m thrilled it inspires ALL women to shift their perspective in a positive way.
- Since you released it, how do you feel? How people did welcome it?
I have a sense of peace about this book and the messages within it, which is a huge blessing to me. I have been so happy with the feedback so far, from friends who have read it and I truly believe it can help many people who are challenged with these circumstances. I am still working on getting it into the right places for marketing, so there is more awareness of this book. That is the challenge for me at this time. I expect this to be a slow and steady process, and I trust that God has plans for my book to reach many more in time.
- Will you stop there or do you have any plan to write another book sooner or later?
Well… I’ve been working on a project with my writing friend, Galit Breen, that has nothing to do with health and wellness, but it’s important just the same. She had asked me to work with her on developing an e-course or possible book to help parents guide their kids in the online world using Christian principles. I’m really excited for it to come out sometime in January!
- One last word for all women reading us today…
I truly believe that every woman will experience some type of injury, surgery, or illness in their life- if not many! It is my hope that this book can be on the nightstand of each and every one of them, because I know how important it is to have encouragement during such difficult times. I really see this book as a gift, pairing nicely with a good home cooked meal. I think there is nothing better than that for those we love who are hurting and healing.
Chris thanks for being such a true, kind, beautiful and inspiring person. You are making a REAL difference in this world. And I am delighted to walk with you on the road!
Chris Blog – The Mom Café
Buy the book on Amazon