Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

The Joy of Falling with Lindsay Harrel

On this week’s podcast, I chat with novelist Lindsay Harrel about the real stuff of life. Hearing more about Lindsay has made me truly appreciate her novel, The Joy of Falling, even more.

The longer I’ve journeyed through life, the more I understand human nature. People lash out or put up walls for a reason. Sometimes they feel abandoned or forgotten. Other times, they are grieving.

A lot of times, grief comes out in anger and rudeness. It’s easier to be mad than sad. Knowing this is a good reminder to be gentle with others. I don’t know what people are going through, but sometimes when I open the pages of a novel I start to understand. As readers, we walk in the shoes of fictional characters, and we somehow understand ourselves and others better.

“I’ve struggled a lot with worry—as a mom, as a writer, just in general,” Lindsay says. “I lost my mom when I was 19, so the journey of grief and joy (a theme in my book) is very familiar to me and partially inspired the book.”

“As a young mom, I also definitely struggle with comparison,” she adds. “I have to look at what God wants me to do and not what others are doing.”

Even as I read this novel, there were things I tucked away about being gentle with myself and others when it comes to grief. And here are three more takeaways from the podcast:

When you’re grieving, surrounded yourself with people who love you.
Let people serve you. You don’t have to be strong.
If you can, find some physical way to remember someone who you’ve lost.

I enjoyed The Joy of Falling so much, and I loved my chat with Lindsay, too!

Who is Lindsay Harrel?

Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd who lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. She’s held a variety of writing and editing jobs over the years and now juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with writing novels. When she’s not writing or chasing after her children, Lindsay enjoys making a fool of herself at Zumba, curling up with anything by Jane Austen, and savoring sour candy one piece at a time.

You can order The Joy of Falling HERE.

About the Book:

Eva and Angela must learn to live again. One step at a time.

It has been fifteen months since Eva and Angela lost their thrill-seeking husbands in a scuba diving accident. Both women are trying to navigate their way through the grief, but neither one is making much progress. Angela is barely making ends meet, angry at her husband for leaving her to raise three children on her own. Meanwhile, Eva is stuck, unable to move forward after losing the love of her life and her source of inspiration.

But then Eva gets a life-changing phone call. Before Brent and Wes died, they had signed up for a race of a lifetime—an ultra-marathon in beautiful New Zealand. Eva begs Angela to run the race with her in their husbands’ place, and Angela finally agrees, hoping to finally understand her husband’s choices.

Training is exhausting, and the race is even more demanding. Their journey grows more complicated by the presence of two men—Marc is Brent’s best friend who is running the race with Eva and Angela, and Simon King is a writer who is covering their inspiring story. With every step, Eva and Angela must ask themselves questions that they haven’t had the courage to ask before. As the women literally put one foot in front of the other, they wonder: Is it possible to find their way forward in hope?

Walk It Out Scripture

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3

If you are enjoying the show, I have a quick favor to ask! If you haven’t yet hit the subscribe button and left a rating and a review on iTunes, please take a moment and do so! I love reading your reviews and it keeps the algorithms happy so new listeners can find the podcast as well!

Resources, books, and links mentioned in this episode:

The Joy of Falling | Lindsay Harrel
Balanced | Tricia Goyer

Connect with Lindsay Harrel

Connect with Tricia

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub

See more of Tricia’s Favorites here!