Journey to Victory

“Journey to Victory” is a uniquely compiled story as it incorporates the author’s education and experience, along with learned facts, together in this compelling piece of literature. “Journey to Victory” opens when the main character, Naomi, makes her way to the store where her best friend, Sandy, is a cashier. Naomi collapses and is rushed to the emergency room of the local hospital to determine the cause. In the confusion, no one close to Naomi is told (up front) what is already known, and an important clue goes unnoticed for some time. Joshua Cantor, Naomi’s boyfriend, has been planning a “day to remember”, which would be complete when Naomi agrees to become his fiancée. His plans go awry when he is told to “come to the hospital quickly” for Naomi wants only to talk to him. After pushing through a barrage of questions and staff enforced barriers, Josh finds Naomi in a sea of white, with cords and tubes protruding out from Naomi and from under the covers. Josh slowly begins to put the pieces together, when Naomi demands the privacy to talk to him alone. Each person in this drama carries unique qualities and characteristics which help to define who they are individually. Naomi, for example, is normally a sweet, joyful person, who tilts her head when waiting for answers, and is often bothered with and by her hair. However, you will be surprised at her bold “don’t ask” attitude when she is under stress or fearful. You will get to KNOW each person well, as you read further and further into the story line. There are several strong threads that weave this 16 chapter story into its’ beautiful masterpiece. First, it displays the many intense emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual “highs and lows” that any person who faces crisis will move through. I use the experiences from personal trauma, loss, and other life altering events, as well as the concepts I learned from a book I once read during my years of formal education. It taught of the 5 stages of grief. I too, went through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. This will weave an emotional corridor toward Naomi’s healing. The story proceeds to blossom as Josh and Sandy (as well as some others) stand side by side with her in realizations, meditations, and encounters, and often the distractions, plummets, and spiritual charges that flood her stormy life into victory. These people could not take away Naomi’s pain, sleepless nights, and memories. However, they could sit with her, walk beside her, and support her. They would let her know, beyond the shadow of doubt, that she is not alone and she is well loved. Best of all, it reflects what TRUE, unaltered, agape love is, when her boyfriend never gives up, never fades away, and never “calls it quits”. Secondly, the reader will sense their own immediate presence with Naomi as she sits in the police station waiting to identify the criminal. Booklovers will shiver when they suddenly feel the same sensations that Naomi experiences in the sanctuary of an empty church. To those who are walking through their own “valley”, you may adopt some of Naomi’s questions, realizations, and meditations along the way. Naomi will fill each heart with the pain of fear, the joys of the momentary relief, and the sadness of setback. Often, the reader will feel as though they are “right there” taking each step toward victory. Next, I have interlaced the truths found in the Holy Word of God within every occasion in the pages of this gripping story. The truth that God is in control. The realization that NO ONE is too “bad” or “lost” to receive the saving grace of God. And equally important, the steps to salvation are found carefully placed within the chapters. While this Christian, fiction drama holds the attention of those who walk with Jesus Christ, it compels everyone to contemplate the gospel found within. You will meet Stacy, whom Naomi disciples. She cares for someone els