Shelaine Strom of Abbotsford, author of But Pain Crept In, has had her book shortlisted by The Word Guild for the 2018 Word Awards in the “Christian Non-Fiction Life Story” category.
Strom’s book details how, in 2010, she went from vibrant life and work as a career and life coach to being sidelined with excruciating pain from crumbling jaw joints.
“But Pain Crept In is about losses and finds. It’s about how pain strains relationships and clarifies values,” she said.
“It’s about the choices pain demands that we make day in and day out, just to cope, just to survive. Much of the content is straight out of my journals. It’s the unfiltered wrestling and raw processing of living in constant pain.”
Strom tells her story between hurt and hope, from agony to worlds renewed. Through tears and humour, her memoir signals gratitude and perseverance, and no simple answers to the problem of pain.
In addition to writing a blog at shelainestrom.com, Strom works at Food for the Hungry as manager of education, and offers private consulting and coaching.
The Word Awards are presented for books, articles, poetry, blogs, screenplays, and French language works published in 2017 for both Christian and mainstream audiences.
Strom’s book is available at House of James in Abbotsford and on Amazon.ca. This year’s Word Awards Gala is held in Mississauga, Ont., on June 15.