Its time for the final chapter on one of my favorite fictional characters. So much truth and inspiration within these pages. From feisty reverend to floundering Alzheimer’s patient, Reverend G is a true hero of the faith as she clings to God no matter what. I hope you take time to read the whole Reverend G series! You will be blessed.
~ ~ ~
She has reached the final stages of Alzheimer’s still, Reverend G finds ways to bring encouragement and humor to the residents of Cove Creek. The cast of characters at the assisted living facility widens around her, even as her world begins to shrink. She becomes a grandmother and her relationship with Chris deepens through need and grace. Meanwhile, the disease is always there, robbing her of memories and now, even her words. But even as Reverend G struggles to communicate with her friends and family, she remains steadfastly honest in prayer. Once worried about forgetting God, the brave little minister discovers that He will never forget her.
Get your own copy at CrossRiver Media
~ ~ ~
From the heart of RJ Thesman:
At some point, every novelist must say goodbye.
The writer spends months thinking about a character and conversing in the make believe world of words – fleshing out the character, checking the nuance of her speech, falling in love with her thoughts and cherishing her family members.
But eventually, the writing is complete, the book is published and that character’s story reclines on a library shelf waiting for readers to pull it off and escape into its chapters.
Since 2010, I have lived with Reverend G, this gutsy petite minister from the heartland who devotes her life to serving God, then receives the death sentence of dementia with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Reverend G has wakened me in the early hours to remind me how her mind struggles with the ravages of the disease even as her heart hopes to continue serving God.
She is as real to me as my reflection in the mirror, and I have felt her despair even as I fashioned it on my computer screen. As the creative juices merged into sentences and paragraphs, Reverend G became my psychiatrist’s couch.
Somehow, I found solace in telling the truth of this horrid disease that my mother is currently living with. It was almost as if Mom shadowed Reverend G and embodied her spirit so that all three of us could simultaneously cry, “Oh, God – I can’t stand it.”
Many of the scenes in the Reverend G series were synonymous with my journal entries every time I visited Mom. No paragraphs are exactly the same, because this series is after all, fiction.
But while Mom forgot names and lost her hearing aid – again! – Reverend G forgot the Lord’s Prayer and lost her Chunky Monkey ice cream. While Mom frustrated me in her last shopping trip because she couldn’t decide on a purse, Reverend G frustrated Jessie while shopping for a cream-colored blouse.
Fiction does mimic reality and novels show the truth, even while wrapped in pretend worlds. And the Reverend G books allowed me to insert humor and the companionship of Reverend G’s boyfriend and cat because I could find no laughter in Mom’s situation. Her companion of a lifetime died in 2004.
To say goodbye to this courageous little minister is to realize my mother’s story will also end and with it – a piece of my history. I am so grateful God planted this story in my head, then dared me to consider writing fiction after decades of published nonfiction.
While I have grieved the end of this series, I am grateful for the journey and for the readers who shared it with me. I hope you will purchase “Final Grace for Reverend G” and find closure when you read its last pages. May you also recognize the hope printed within dialogue that points to the divine Word who communicates his love to us all.
~ ~ ~
RJ Thesman has been a writer since she flipped open her Red Chief tablet and scribbled her first story. Thesman is a Certified Life Coach, a Biblical Counselor and a Stephen Minister. She has worked as a communications professional in a variety of nonprofits and has served as campus minister to international students at the University of Kansas. Currently, she is Program Director and Life Coach at GateWay of Hope.As the author of “The Life at Cove Creek Series,” Thesman has completed the trilogy about the gutsy little minister, Reverend G, who struggles through Alzheimer’s but keeps her faith. Thesman has over 600 publishing credits in various magazines and her work is included in 13 compilations, including 5 Chicken Soup books.
Thesman enjoys teaching writing workshops and as a writing coach, she helps writers move past obstacles and birth their words.
Thesman enjoys teaching writing workshops and as a writing coach, she helps writers move past obstacles and birth their words.
She is the mother of an adult son and enjoys reading, gardening and cooking – especially anything with blueberries. Thesman lives in the heartland of Kansas with her son and an elderly cat.
~ ~ ~
Connect with RJ Thesman
Sign up for her newsletter!
Thanks, Angela, for this opportunity to tell your fans about Reverend G.
Lovely post, Angela. Heartfelt third book and such a nice wrap-up with RJ. Congratulations!
I just finished the first book in series, and definitely need more Reverend G. Book 2 here I come.
Pingback: The Influence of Reverend G - Angela D. Meyer