Atlas Girl ByEmily Wierenga

Disillusioned and yearning for freedom, Emily Wierenga left home at age eighteen with no intention of ever returning. Broken down by organized religion, a childhood battle with anorexia, and her parents' rigidity, she set out to find God somewhere else--anywhere else. Her travels took her across Canada, Central America, the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. She had no idea that her faith was waiting for her the whole time--in the place she least expected it.
Poignant and passionate, Atlas Girl is a very personal story of a universal yearning for home and the assurance that we are known, forgiven, and beloved. Readers will find in this memoir a true description of living faith as a two-way pursuit in a world fraught with distraction. Anyone who wrestles with the brokenness we find in the world will love this emotional journey into the arms of the God who heals all wounds.

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http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Girl-Finding-Place-Thought/dp/0801016568/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1404666040&sr=1-1

I am a wife, mother, and believer.

I am an eating disorder survivor, who makes art with words and paint.

I have two books coming out, this year and next, on the eating disorder journey. The first is 'Chasing Silhouettes: How to Help a Loved One Battling an Eating Disorder' (Ampelon, 2012), and the second, co-authored by Dr. Dena Cabrera, is 'Mom in the Mirror: Body Image, Beauty and Life After Pregnancy' (Rowman and Littlefield, 2013).

My first book, 'Save My Children: The Story of a Father's Love,' was published by Castle Quay Books in September of 2008.

I am represented by Sandra Bishop of MacGregor Literary. I also serve as a volunteer counselor through FINDINGbalance and am a Navigator with the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).

I am a monthly columnist for the Christian Courier, arts feature editor for TS Poetry, regular contributor to A Deeper Story, and a paid contributor to The High Calling. A former associate editor, ghostwriter and staff writer, I have written for Christianity Today (Kyria), Christian Week, Faith Today, Adbusters, Geez, The Anglican Planet, Focus on the Family, Christian Courier, and In Touch, in addition to having served as copy editor for the Christian Courier.

In May of 2012 my news story for Faith Today, "Parents Forgive their Child's Abductor," took first place in the Canadian Church Press Awards. According to Judge Mark Bourrie, "This is a very moving piece. The sense of joy, hope, faith and forgiveness that comes through simply grabs the heart. An inspiring story. Wierenga captures the terror of every parent's worst fear and tells how the parents of Kienan Hebert's faith never wavered in spite of the tremendous test that it faced. Told with sensitivity, care and skill. "

When I'm not writing, I play guitar, and I paint. My prints and paintings are sold worldwide, and can be found on Etsy through my shop entitled, CanvasChild.

My husband, Trenton, is a math and science teacher. We've been married nine years, have two boys named Aiden Grey (born Nov. 12, 2009) and Kasher Jude (July 25, 2011) and are foster parents to Joey and Jin. We live in rural Alberta, where we snowboard, make wine and go geocaching.

I come from a home-schooling heritage; my mum has overcome brain cancer. She is my song. My dad is her hero. He cares for her daily and pastors a church. I am the eldest of four.

I love to travel. In June of 2009, an excerpt from one of my books secured a trip to a writing workshop in Lake Como, Italy; I've also been to the Dominican Republic, Australia, Korea-where Trent and i taught English for a year-Lebanon, Jordan, Japan, China, Mexico, Holland, England and Germany. When I was young, I lived in Africa along with my parents who were missionaries.

Mine is a broken story, shared regularly on my blog.

Thank you, for standing with me in this literary and artistic chaos.

Live in love.

 

Wow. What an emotional read a truly moving memoir.

If you have ever dealt with brokenness then you are going to love this book, God is on every page and the healing will start to take place as you will be able to relate to this author in her story.

The writing is wonderful and very captivating from page one until the very end.

I gave this book 5 stars and I recommend it.

I was given a copy of this book by the author for my honest review.