F. Elaine Olsen

Beyond the Scars: Daring to Live Forward F. Elaine Olsen

Beyond the Scars was born out of affliction. Words that had quietly collected in Elaine's heart during months of intense, physical suffering, eventually surfaced onto paper to serve as her catalyst for healing. As she neared the end of her cancer treatments, Elaine realized that yet another, complex journey awaited her-the journey of survivorship. The woundings that she had received during her fight for survival exceeded fleshly scars; her woundings went deeper. Where hope once reigned in Elaine's heart, hopelessness crept in as replacement. Words of witness, once easily spoken and written, were stolen by silence. In that difficult place between what "once was" and what "could be", Elaine had a choice to make: life on hold or life lived forward. Beyond the Scars was and continues to be a testimony to her bold choice for soul-survivorship. Beyond the Scars is a daring invitation for those who are suffering to claim the final word regarding their pain, to live life forward beyond their scars. Through forty, faith-based narratives, Elaine shepherds the wounded down the path of survivorship by confronting them with the hope and witness of Jesus Christ. With the reading of, reflecting upon, and responding to the words written in Beyond the Scars, the wounded will have the opportunity to reach beyond their temporal pain in order to take hold of God's eternal hope.