This week’s author interview is with Darby Strickland. She is the author of 2 RCL booklets: Domestic Abuse: Help for the Sufferer and Domestic Abuse: Recognize, Respond, Rescue.

  • Question #1—Tell us a little bit about yourself: where you’re from, family, job, personal interests, unique hobbies, what you do in your spare time, etc.

I reside in Pennsylvania with my husband and three children. I counsel at the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation and have a particular interest in educating churches on the issue of Domestic Abuse. One of my greatest joys is homeschooling my children. Our home is filled with music, read alouds, good food, games and tons of laughter. Like most people, my life often feels packed out, but I like to think it is filled with precious things. I enjoy traveling with my family to different cities where we take a particular interest in touring museums together.  I love any activity that involves water: swimming, beach days, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, watching a Longwood Gardens fountain show or walking along a lake. Being by the water is sweetly refreshing for my soul.

  • Question #2—What inspired you to write this book, about this topic?

God has placed many oppressed women in my care. The verse in Ecclesiastes has rung true for many of them as it captures the isolated and powerless plight of the oppressed, “Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.” (Ecc. 4:1). My goal when I write is to open eyes so that family, friends, counselors and pastors can understand the circumstances of marriages and lives of abused spouses. Informing them about the realities of oppression enables them to provide wise and loving support to a largely hidden reality. But even more than that, it is my goal to connect these precious sufferers to God, their greatest comforter, as he has much to say about oppression and his desire to rescue them.

 

  • Question #3—How do you deal with writer’s block?

I have discovered two faithful partners to help me overcome writer’s block. Some days my brain just will not write, the words do not flow or I am stuck and cannot see a way to formulate connections. I have learned to accept the reality of having unproductive days and put the writing aside. It has been so important to take the pressure off of myself and trust that if God has something for me to say he will be faithful in helping me. I can wait, pray, and rest while trusting that he will bring the right words or ideas in his time. It is good to be dependent upon his mercy and help. My husband has also proven to be a blockade remover, as sometimes the block stems from self-doubt or lack of courage to write the harder things. He listens to me read and reread the same passages. I am so thankful for his devotion to the things that I am passionate about.  He helps me hear myself and refocus my passion for the material, but his encouragement keeps me fighting to do the hard work involved in writing.

 

  • Question #4—What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Being a young writer myself I would encourage aspiring writers to write on topics they are passionate about. Writing is laborious. If you are driven by the material, you will be more committed to the process of writing. My teaching has greatly helped my writing, so before sitting down to prepare a manuscript, look for (or create) opportunities to teach the material. Teaching gives you immediate feedback on the impact and clarity of the material but it also provides you with a foundation to build on. Most importantly pray for the Lord to guide and shape your work.

How can readers discover more about you and your work?

 

Related posts:

  1. FIVE MYTHS ABOUT DOMESTIC ABUSE by Darby Strickland
  2. Author Interview with Scott Christensen
  3. Author Interview with David F. Wells
  4. Author Interview with Robert Kellemen
  5. Author Interview with Andrew Naselli