Keep On Keeping On
True redemption story is both loving memoir and legal drama
Keep On Keeping On tells of a family's journey to justice
True redemption story is both loving memoir and legal drama
2008-04-18
LONGWOOD, FL-"God can take the most horrendous circumstances and turn them around for good." How often have Christians heard this in Bible studies, sermons, and from other Christians, but rarely have had to live through an ordeal that tests the strength and validity of such a statement? Keep On Keeping On (paperback, 978-1-60647-060-2; hardcover, 978-1-60647-061-9) is a loving memoir that tells of two parents' journey with their son through his battle with addiction and then as they struggled with the legal system while enduring the drawn-out trial for their son's murderer. Through it all they learned to never give up hope or become bitter. Their son once said, "I feel in my spirit that someday God will give me a word for my church and community. It won't be from me, but from God. Right now, I'll just walk the walk." Remembering those words, Davis encourages her readers to focus on the good memories of the past when faced with starting a new chapter in their lives.
There is an interesting twist to this story -- the author's family was in the Atlanta courthouse when a gunman named Brian Nichols went on a shooting spree killing Judge Barnes and three other people. Because of this shooting, the trial was ruled a mistrial, causing Davis' family to wait seven more months for justice. Through this agonizing ordeal she learned that God can always take the most painful circumstances and turn them around for good. Jean Davis writes as a mother and as someone who has lived through the story she tells. As Davis states, "My husband and I wanted to share from our hearts and from our painful experiences a parent's true perspective, and at the same time bring hope and help to other parents who are hurting."