Holy Ground

Author’s NoteWriting this book has been like walking back through the halls of a school I thought I’d left behind forever. For a long time, I was just the "oddball" in the long denim skirt, the preacher’s daughter who lived in the quiet tension between the "Glory" of the church and the fire in her own heart.I wrote these chapters not just to recount the secrets of a high school bedroom or a riverbank baptism, but to honor the girl who had to learn how to breathe in a world that felt too small. To the boy who gave me my first kiss and the parents who loved me even when they didn't understand me: thank you for being the friction that helped me find my spark.To My Best FriendTo my "thick as thieves" partner-in-crime—the girl who taught me how to dance and helped me hide the red lipstick—you are the heartbeat of these pages. Though you aren't here to read these words today, your spirit is in every "white lie" and every vintage dress I’ve ever worn. You helped me become the woman I am, and I carry our secrets with me every single day. You were my first taste of true, unconditional freedom.To the ReaderIf you’ve ever felt like an outsider in your own life, or if you’ve ever had to build a "house of lies" just to protect the person you were meant to be, this book is for you. I hope you realize that the things people call "sins" are often just the growing pains of a soul finding its own way.Today, I am no longer hiding. I am a mother, a caregiver, and a woman who knows that her body and her story belong to her alone. I’ve traded the "Holy Fire" of fear for the quiet peace of self-acceptance.Whatever is meant to be, will be. And as for the rest? You simply have to live the best way you know how—one day, one memory, and one poem at a time.— Tonya L. Weaver Read more