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McCook author shares faith, healing
McCOOK, Neb. - As a self-admitted former teen rebel, one McCook author is grateful she’s been given a second chance to give back to the community. However, it’s been in ways she never would have anticipated.
Looking back over the years, Alicia Witt can see how her faith and life experiences have brought her writing full circle–and now she’s hoping her journey will be a light in the darkness for others.
Though as a child she had always enjoyed writing, the knack truly developed in high school. But it wasn’t simply a creative outlet for Witt.
“I had a lot of childhood trauma. I was pretty rebellious as a teen, and probably because of some of that childhood trauma,” she said. “Writing was me trying to process these thoughts.” Witt began writing in diaries to help process it all, but at age 18, she tore them up because she was ashamed of what she wrote.
In her college expository writing class, however, she felt at home. One assignment was a narrative writing exercise, and Witt chose to write about a car accident her family was in that took her father’s life the year before. It was a heavy story, filled with raw emotion, but the story mysteriously disappeared.
Fast forward to five years ago, that missing story was found inside her hope chest. Once she could bring herself to read it, she wanted to see if she had mentioned anything about the Lord. While she didn’t mention Jesus in the story itself, she had quoted a Bible verse in the margin.
“I had grown up knowing Jesus, but not following Him,” Witt said. “I must not have been as lost as I actually thought I was. Even though my life wasn’t showing it, I still had a little sliver of hope attached to God.”
While her writing style hasn’t changed over the years, she noticed that she now writes in a way that points to Jesus. She also found she has developed a healthier mode of thinking than she did during her diary days.
In 2017, Witt took the leap and started a Christian blog, “forhispurpose.blog,” which has over a thousand views a day from all over the world.
“I write about ordinary things, but the way God was using those things in extraordinary ways to draw me close to Him and also point other people towards him,” Witt said.
It was her blog that opened her mind to the idea of publishing books, something she had never considered before, but it gave her a second chance to give back to the world.
Her second book, a memoir, will be released soon.
“Out of the Shadows and into His Light” came organically and was God-led, Witt said. She experienced several encounters with God while writing it. She attributes her faith to her grandmother’s influence, and she happened to finish it on the one-year anniversary of her passing.
“It was interesting because I kept feeling like I was supposed to write a memoir, but also something that could speak to others who have dealt with trauma in whatever way,” Witt said. “I think its’ done a good job at sharing my story, but also relating to whatever someone’s story might look like.”
She added that she feels like the book’s subject matter might be tough, but it’s “softened by the love of Jesus and the hope that is in Him.”
Witt said there is something healing about releasing all those emotions and experiences – fear, trauma, negative thoughts, and regrets – through writing, and she hopes others will be able to use her content to aid in their own healing process and point them to Jesus.
Her first published book, “Early Snow,” has been a means to offer a spark of light to the community.
The book is based on a poem Witt wrote as a blog post around three years ago. She came across it again recently, and illustrations flooded her mind, inspiring her to turn the season-themed poem into a book.
It took some coaxing, but she talked her daughter, McKenzie, into illustrating it for her. Three other books will follow as part of what has been named the Season’s Blessings series.
“I look at this world and all the brokenness, and it’s just crazy and ugly,” Witt said.
She feels passionate about being able to offer something that’s affordable, gentle, family-friendly, safe and brings cozy feelings.
The book has been donated to city and school libraries, and the duo has read it to groups of children in
the area. They plan on doing it at more locations.
“I really love the fact that McKenzie and I were able to do this project together. And for the next three, also,” she said.
New Life in McCook and Amazon carry the book, and the Witts bring them to vendor fairs and farmers’ markets. Proceeds from the book have been going towards a college fund for McKenzie, a high school senior.
“I ran pretty reckless as a teen and young adult, not benefiting the community by any means,” Witt explains. “Through Jesus and writing, I’ve been given a second chance to contribute good to not only my community, but to the world, as well.”
She feels like by sharing her faith, along with the blog and books, she is being blessed by the opportunity to offer a remarkable gift that points to Jesus.