Guest Post + GIVEAWAY by New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Cantrell!

Guest Post + GIVEAWAY by New York Times Bestselling Author Julie Cantrell!

My path first crossed Julie Cantrell’s in February 2012. Our mutual friend, River Jordan, sent her my debut, The Outcast. Being the incredibly kind individual she is, Julie took time to read a stranger’s story and sent me a wonderful endorsement, which my publisher ended up using on the back of the book. Not only that, Julie also contacted me to ask about the  origin of the story and to just . . . connect.

Over these past few years, that is what has stood out to me about Julie the most. Throughout the hardships she’s faced, and the award-winning, bestselling novels she’s penned, she’s striven for human connection and understanding. Needless to say, I am honored to host Julie, whose fourth novel, Perennials, hits shelves on November 14th. This story–like her others–has already received incredible critical acclaim.

“A stark exploration of the idea that home might not be the place it seems, Perennials is the perfect literary escape to cozy up with this fall.” — REDBOOK MAGAZINE (20 BOOKS BY WOMEN YOU HAVE TO READ THIS FALL)

“When Lovey is enlisted to help her father create a memory garden for her parents’ 50th anniversary, she learns about herself, her roots, her mother’s perennial garden, and the importance of family bonds that can never be broken.” — SOUTHERN LIVING MAGAZINE (BOOKS COMING OUT IN THE FALL THAT WE CAN’T WAIT TO READ)

“Cantrell (Into the Free) captures the unbreakable bonds of family in this poignant story … a great understanding of family quirks and the nuances of family dynamics … the textured portrayal of Eva will leave readers inspired.” — Publishers Weekly

“Cantrell has penned another quietly contemplative, thought-provoking novel. Her prose is so meaningful that every phrase begs to be mulled over … This is a book that begs to be re-read and discussed.” — RT Reviews TOP PICK

A 2017 Fall Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), PERENNIALS is Julie Cantrell’s fourth novel. Set in her hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, this story examines family relationships, small town struggles, and the power of forgiveness.

“If Julie Cantrell isn’t on your reading list, she should be.”  —Lisa Wingate, NYT bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

 

---

Now, here is an encouraging word from Julie. One of the most optimistic people I am blessed to know. Take it away, Julie!

This Three-Letter Word Will Change Your Life by Julie Cantrell

How many times a week do we feel overwhelmed? Stressed? Stretched too thin and pinched for time? At one particularly painful season in my life, I found myself dreading each day. The to-do list had grown too long to manage and my heart had been too hurt to heal. I was sinking, and the very act of breathing brought pain.

It was time for realignment. I took a deep, hard look at the woman I was becoming. Despite my best efforts, this life was about to push me past the tipping point. I was on the brink of becoming another stressed-out, overworked, run-myself-ragged, heart-broken fool. Something had to give.

On my refrigerator was a photo of my younger self, smiling and holding a child in each arm. When the photo was taken, I was a work-from-home mom of two toddlers. Friends often asked me how I was always so happy. Why did I never complain?

But standing there in my kitchen, looking at the photo, I barely recognized the happy, free-spirited mother in the frame. I had sighed through the morning, frantically fixing breakfast for the children who had since become temperamental teens. Where had that grateful heart gone? And more importantly, how could I get her back?

The answer was simple.

Somewhere along the way I had shifted my perspective. I had begun to look at my long list of obligations and complain, saying, “I have to do X, Y, Z.” Once upon a time, that smiling young mother would have seen it differently.

So, I made a change.

I replaced one four-letter word with a three-letter word, and everything came back to good. That’s all it took. The shift of one teensy-weensy little word. And voila! My once shriveling soul was smiling again. And still is.

Now, instead of saying, I HAVE to do x, y, z… I say I GET to do x, y, z.

Today, I GET to go to the grocery store. How grateful I am that I have access to good, healthy food for my family. I don’t have to risk my life to find it in a war zone. I don’t have to sell my body to earn the money to eat. I have access to clean water, safe food, and everything I need to provide for my family today. And for that, I smile.

Today, I GET to do farm jobs. Cleaning chicken coops, weeding the gardens, and feeding livestock are not the cleanest tasks in the universe. And true, my humble Mississippi farm may not be prime real estate in the eyes of many. But how grateful I am that I have two hands to get dirty, two feet to get tired, and a little patch of land to call our own. For that, I smile.

Today, I GET to take my children to and from school. Yes, carpool can take a little time in the day, but how grateful I am that my teenagers still want to be seen with me. That they have the capacity to learn and grow and develop friendships and go out into this great, big, wonderful world carrying the love I have poured into them. For that, I smile.

Reading the list of what I get to do today makes it sound as if I have the perfect life. Indeed, that is the point.

Feeling stressed? Overwhelmed? Stretched too thin? Frustrated by life’s challenges? Try this simple adjustment and see if it helps. Next time you sigh and complain that you HAVE to do something, adjust to use that special three-letter word. You GET to do something. And aren’t you grateful?

For that, I hope you smile.

(This post originally appeared on HuffPost.)

Julie is offering a giveaway of Perennials! To enter, visit Jolina Petersheim’s Facebook page, click “Like” on the giveaway post, and tag a book-lovin’ buddy in the comment section! 🙂 Giveaway open until Monday, November 13th, at 9 p.m. CST. Due to shipping costs, applicable to contiguous U.S. residents only.

About the book:

When two estranged sisters reunite for their parents’ 50^th anniversary, a family tragedy brings unexpected lessons of hope and healing amid the flowers of their mother’s perennial garden.

Eva—known to all as Lovey—grew up safe and secure in Oxford, MS, surrounded by a rich literary history and her mother’s stunning flower gardens. But a shed fire, and the injuries that it caused, seemed to change everything . . . especially when her older sister, Bitsy, blamed Lovey for the irreparable damage.

Bitsy became the cheerleader. The homecoming queen. The perfect Southern belle who could do no wrong. All the while, Lovey served as the family scapegoat, always bearing the brunt when Bitsy threw blame her way.

At eighteen, suffocating in her sister’s shadow, Lovey turned down a marriage proposal and fled to Arizona—a place as far from Mississippi as she could find.

In time, she became a successful advertising executive and a weekend yoga instructor, carving a satisfying life for herself, free from Bitsy’s vicious lies. But now that she’s turning 45, Lovey is feeling more alone than ever and questioning the choices that have led her here.

When she gets a call from her father insisting that she come home three weeks early for her parents’ 50th anniversary, Lovey is at wits’ end. She’s about to close the biggest contract of her career, and there’s a lot on the line. But despite the risks, her father’s words, “Family First,” draw her right back to the red-dirt roads of Mississippi.

Lovey is welcomed home by a secret project—a memory garden her father has planned as an anniversary surprise for her mother. As she helps create this sacred space, Lovey begins to rediscover her roots, learning to live perennially in spite of life’s many trials and tragedies.

Years ago, Lovey chose to leave her family and the South far behind. But now that she’s returned, she’s realizing things at home were never what they seemed.

Julie Cantrell is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, teacher, and TEDx presenter. She has served as editor-in-chief of the Southern Literary Review and has earned starred reviews by both Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Cantrell is a recipient of the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Fellowship and was named a finalist for the 2017 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Fiction Award. Perennials is her fourth novel.

Learn more:

Website: www.juliecantrell.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliecantrellauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JulieCantrell

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/juliecantrell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/juliecantrell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliecantrell/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julie-cantrell

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2uRxmIK