I am so excited to have Sarah Hanks share on the blog today! As soon as I sat down to read her split time novel, A Battle Worth Fighting, she became one of my favorites!
Like me, Sarah feels called to write about difficult topics. Not only is she one of our Brave Authors, it was Sarah who answered the call and brought us all together in the first place!
Without further ado, I’m going to hand the blog over to Sarah, and let her tell you a little more about her new release, Braving Strange Waters, and why she, as a White author, feels called to write about racism.
After reading Braving Strange Waters, a faithful reader asked me why I continue to tackle tough topics such as racism in my books. “Very few Black authors are writing about these subjects, much less White authors. What causes you to gravitate toward them?”
Fair question. Braving Strange Waters is a fresh, fun, relatively light timeslip. Compared to the Mercy series, I touch the subject of racism with a light hand. However, I couldn’t be enticed to leave it out. I guess I’m drawn toward the elephant in the room. Instead of avoiding it, I feel like we should have robust discussions about it.
As Christians, we should be the ones influencing culture. We are called to be salt and light. We’re set apart to be a voice among the noise. We should sound different than the culture around us. We have a different Source. And yes, there are times when it’s wiser to not speak for a hot minute. But if we are silent, other voices will fill the void, and they’ll likely speak nonsense and lies.
Right now, many Christians are afraid of aligning themselves with movements that stand against racism because of the political ideologies surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement/organization, and other organizations that also embrace ideologies they don’t agree with. I understand and agree that we must be biblically rooted and not be swept here and there by anything that does not line up with the Word of God. However, racism is demonic. Period. The belief that someone made in the image of God is inferior because of the color of their skin is a lie from the pit of hell. We can take a bold stance against it without getting tangled in political agendas.
In Braving Strange Waters, Stella is forced to face the fact that she hasn’t taken a stand against racial injustice. By saying nothing when others have made racial digs, it’s as if she’s stamped her approval. Fear has shackled her in those moments, but a trip back in time gives her a second chance. By helping runaway slaves escape, she finds the courage she’s previously lacked. She is not the hero of this story, but she does play an important part.
As a White author writing about the subject of racism, I rely heavily on my sensitivity readers, as well as on reading and listening to the experiences of people of color. Even in doing so, I might not get it perfect. It’s my hope that, as people read, their eyes are opened to things they might not have considered before. I hope they have beautiful discussions about these things with a diverse group of friends, and more importantly, with Jesus. And I pray that at the end of the day, we might all love the people around us well.
About Braving Strange Waters:
Stella Lindy is supposed to be soaking up the sunshine with her bridesmaids on a bachelorette cruise to Hawaii. But when she hits the wrong button on the elevator, the glamorous luxury of the modern ship is replaced with the Missouri River steamboat Arabia filled with strangers—and a mysterious doctor informs her it is 1856.
Communicating through an antique mailbox, her friends on the cruise try to guide her back home before the steamboat sinks, but Stella finds herself caught in a tangled web between pro-slavery Border Ruffians and anti-slavery Jayhawkers. Standing up for what’s right in the face of peril and uncertainty might mean never making it home.
Braving Strange Waters is a riveting time-slip novel with memorable characters, exciting twists, and rich internal conflict that fans of Gabrielle Meyer will love.
Thanks again, Sarah! Braving Strange Waters sounds like a great read!
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Wonderful guest post, Sarah. Braving Strange Waters is such a good read, and you’re right: racism is demonic.
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You are so right, Priscilla. Even though I don’t deal with racism very much in my own writing, it is a constant theme in my research. The fact that writers are hesitant deal with racism in our society, yet are so willing to highlight the racism of other generations in other places raises some interesting questions which I don’t feel prepared to deal with here… Perhaps when I am feeling “brave,” those questions will lead into a blog post of their own…
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