 |
| Jennifer Slattery and her husband Steve |
Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction that will impact your life. The words may be fiction, but weaved into the fabric of her stories is truth. The truth about need in our world and how one person can make a difference. And by the end of her books, you’re wondering how you can be that one person! While writing her most recent book, Intertwined, her husband, Steve, decided to be that one! Read an interview with him below the book information.
Connect with Jennifer
~ ~ ~
Intertwined:
Abandoned by her husband for another woman, Tammy Kuhn, an organ procurement coordinator often finds herself in tense and bitter moments. After an altercation with a doctor, she is fighting to keep her job and her sanity when one late night she encounters her old flame Nick. She walks right into his moment of facing an unthinkable tragedy. Because they both have learned to find eternal purposes in every event and encounter, it doesn’t take long to discover that their lives are intertwined but the ICU is no place for romance….or is it? Could this be where life begins again?Intertwined, part of New Hope Publisher’s contemporary fiction line, is a great reminder of how God can turn our greatest tragedies and failures into beautiful acts of love and grace. Readers will fall in love with the realistic characters and enjoy the combination of depth, heart-felt emotion and humor that makes Jennifer’s novels so appealing. Readers will be inspired to find God in every moment and encounter in their own lives!
Get your copy: Amazon CBD Barnes & Noble
~ ~ ~
An Interview with a Living Donor: Steve
What’s it like being married to a writer? Uh… A writer that has OCD? (That’s a question.) I like hearing Jen’s stories and thoughts. I like reading her work. I’m very proud of her.
What might surprise people about Jennifer? *Extended silence.* That she has a college aged daughter and looks so young. (And his wife swoons!)
Tell us about Intertwined. This story impacted you, didn’t it? The process in the story impacted me. Just listening to Jen work on the story and talk about it with Ami Koelliker, her friend who worked in the organ donation industry, got me thinking about people needing organs and the people donating organs.
Did anything surprise you while you were listening? I was surprised this was someone’s full time job, to work on getting these organs to people in need. I wasn’t aware of that whole situation. I thought it was something the hospital did. I didn’t realize there was a whole organ donation network.
 |
| Sam, shortly after surgery. |
You donated a kidney to, basically, a stranger, correct? Tell us about what happened leading you to donate. In October, I had heard Jen talking about a young man named Sam’s need for a kidney. We were praying for him, and one night she prayed specifically at dinner. And God was working on me, and made me think, “Why couldn’t it be?”
So, I went and talked to a friend from work who had just given a kidney to one of his cousins just maybe four or five months earlier, so I asked him about it. I felt this was God working on me again. Here my wife was just working on a story about donation, and my coworker had recently donated a kidney. When Sam’s need came up, I felt the need to do it.
You said you felt a need to do it. Explain. Sam was in dire need of a kidney, and, based on Jen’s prayers for him and his mom, I got the impression he wasn’t having much luck. I felt there was a good chance he might die, if somebody didn’t step up. I couldn’t let that happen. So then I went to Nebraska Medical Enter and went through the process of getting qualified. That was a four or five month ordeal that involved sever exams, numerous blood draws, and toting around my urine (for testing purposes) for two days.
During the urine toting days, you did something with your teenaged daughter. Can you tell us about that? She wanted to go shopping, and I told her I didn’t have a problem going, but I’d have to bring my jug of urine with me. Every time I went to the bathroom, I had to urinate in a jug that I kept refrigerated or iced. When I left the house, I had to take the jug with me in a cooler full of ice. So I took the cooler with me and dragged it behind me in the mall.
What were her thoughts about that. She wasn’t pleased that dad was taking his urine with him. *chuckles.* She couldn’t understand why I couldn’t leave it in the car, but if I had to go the bathroom I didn’t want to have to run out and get it.
Did you second guess your decision? I never really second guessed it, but I did get very nervous the day before. I was nervous about it—not about the decision but about the procedure. I feared the unexpected. I wanted everything to turn out ok for Sam and me. I wanted it as much for him as much as for me, because it wasn’t a straight donation. It was a three-way donation. One of my fears was that I would donate and the guy on the other end wouldn’t and Sam would be left hanging.
Did you feel God guide you through this? Definitely. I felt it was Him leading me to donate, and then before the surgery, the night before, I went to play softball. I left about two hours early because I was so nervous. I was sitting in the parking lot of the softball field, on the back of the car, drinking water. This guy shows up out of nowhere, and he drove up, came to me, and said, “I felt the need to come and pray.” I said, “That’s funny because I do need prayers. Tomorrow, I’m going to donate a kidney.”
He said a prayer for me, and I felt total relief, everything was taken off of me. And then he got in his car and left. I felt like God had sent an angel to me to help ease my anxiety, and after that, I knew everything was going to be ok.
So how are you doing today? 100% healthy.
Would you do it again? Definitely. I can see the results. I can see Sam healthy, and that’s a good feeling, knowing I did that.
 |
| Sam, the summer after, healthy and strong. |
Your wife calls you her warrior. How does that feel? It feels pretty awesome to know your wife thinks of you as her warrior. It gives me an incredibly strong feeling, empowering.
Meet the Author
Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband.
Connect with Jennifer
Do you have a question for Jennifer?
Hey, friend, thanks so much for interviewing my sweet hubby! I loved reading his perspective and thoughts on all that happened during that amazing event! God is so good; so loving, attentive, and faithful!