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The Story Behind the Story and Spotlight

Jennifer Arrington • Oct 31, 2023

Help me welcome author Jennifer Arrington today as she shares about her latest release.


 

In June of 2019, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. There was no family history; my only risk factor was being female. I was about to start a new job, and then everything happened at once: I underwent a lumpectomy, intraoperative radiation, and started hormone blockers. It ended up being a much “bigger deal” than I had imagined, but we came through it all and breathed a sigh of relief, putting that episode behind us.


A little over a year later, however, I discovered a new lump. That lump led to a double mastectomy and a long road of multiple surgeries and adjustments with lots of sitting around the house doing nothing. The enforced isolation and recovery depressed me, so I pulled out a manuscript I’d started about ten years before.


That manuscript turned into The Counting Tree and became my personal therapy. And, as part of that therapy, I gave my protagonist, Heidi, breast cancer (sorry, Heidi!). I finished the story and let my daughter and a friend read it, thinking the manuscript had served its purpose. But they told me the book needed to be published, so that’s what we did!

 

The Counting Tree, centered around thankfulness, opens in 1988 South Africa, where a young Heidi has flown halfway around the world to work as a camp counselor. In chapter 2, the reader learns of The Tree, a weeping willow where children hang personalized wind chimes. We peek in on Heidi as Johann, the enigmatic camp director, reluctantly shows her around the property. Here they are at The Tree:

 

Tears pooled in Heidi’s eyes as she scanned the hundreds of chimes hung throughout the branches. How beautiful and what a contrast… every placard proclaiming a child’s blessing hung in a weeping willow.


Words from the Psalms came unbidden, “We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof…” she quoted softly.

“…for there they that carried us away captive required of us a song.” Johann finished quietly.

The quoted words of Psalms resonated between them, filling the space; their eyes locked, his startled by the depth of her understanding, hers grateful for the connection.”

 

You will laugh and cry and cheer Heidi on as she navigates this new life and the beginnings of a beautiful love. But life isn’t kind to Heidi, and the reader follows Heidi’s journey back to the United States, through adoption, parenting twins alone, breast cancer, and eventually to another Counting Tree. This one, although a continent away, is startlingly familiar.

 

We released this heartwarming love story on Thanksgiving Day, 2022. Currently discounted to $2.99 on Kindle, you can download your own copy now. Just a warning: you won’t be able to put it down! Many reviewers state that they read it in one sitting, and the most recent reviewer says, “Reading this story is an emotional, inspiring, and rewarding journey. Highly recommend!”

 

About Jennifer:

Jennifer Arrington holds a master’s degree in nutrition from Texas A&M University. Having spent much of her career as a chemistry teacher, she returned to writing while recovering from recurrent breast cancer.  A self-proclaimed bibliophile, weekend pianist, and beach lover, she loves to spend her free time reading, beach walking, paddleboarding, and snorkeling. 

Inspired by her experiences growing up in South Africa and moving to the United States as a young adult, The Counting Tree is her second novel. 

https://linktr.ee/jenniferarrington_author


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