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Twentieth Anniversary of the Publication of *Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist*

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Exactly 20 years ago today I published my first book on Amazon, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist. This first book still has a special place in my heart. So many loved ones supported and encouraged me as I put Blessings together: I think it was my friend, Marjorie, who first told me about print-on-demand publishing companies and encouraged me to look into getting my book in print; Mel, the wife of the man who had saved my dad and his teammates on K2 in 1953, was instrumental in keeping me going – every time I’d hit a glitch she would call me out of the blue – like magic! – to tell me how much she was looking forward to seeing my book in print; and other friends took the time to read my manuscript and give me helpful feedback. I completed the manuscript in time to give typed copies to my mom, and my aunts Junie and Elsie for Mother’s day in 2005. And on August 9, 2005, I published it with CreateSpace – an Amazon publishing company.

After I published it, friends encouraged me to submit it to the Writer’s Digest people to get feedback on it. Their feedback was encouraging:

“Blessings” subtitle, “Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist,” draws immediate attention to the book, and , as it turns out, proves a very apt choice. Ms. Terrell’s sense of humor is appealing on many different levels throughout, and is a most welcome addition often found lacking in similar books. The introduction does a good job of explaining who the author is and why she wrote her book; likewise, the linear notes on the back cover peak the reader’s interest. The book’s length is just about right for an inspirational title, short enough to read in one sitting if desired. From a technical standpoint, the author has clearly studied the craft of writing: her style is smooth and easy to read. Blessings is a book that should have wide appeal to readers of all – or no religious background.

On the downside: The cover of this book leaves much to be desired. In short, it is bland and unappealing – completely the opposite of the content.

***

(I hadn’t even known that the cover was going to be part of the feedback.)

A year or so later, I republished my book (with a new cover), and then, when there were a couple other books in the series, I changed the cover again so all the books in the series looked like they belonged together.

Blessings has brought so many new friends into my life and connected me with people all over the world. Blessings has been a blessing to me.

An AI-generated review on Amazon says: “Customers say
Customers find the book inspirational, particularly appreciating its prayerful approach to life. They describe it as heartwarming and an interesting memoir, with one customer noting how the author shares her life stories with joy. The writing style receives positive feedback for being beautifully written, and customers value the author’s honesty in sharing her experiences.

Inspirational message Heartwarming story Writing style Honesty”

***

Here are some actual human reviews:

RobertJ

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Karen for Writing this Book

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2009

Verified Purchase

To echo the reviews of others, I did laugh, I did cry, this book touched my soul. My wife and I read it out loud on a snowy New Hampshire day and there were numerous times when I had to pause as the lump formed in my throat. I’ve been a Christian Scientist for most of my adult life and this book tells my story and the story of many fellow travelers. I recommend this book highly for anyone who would like to see how prayer can make a difference in your life, in ways both large and small.

SB

5.0 out of 5 stars Light-hearted book packs a powerful punch

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2010

First, I confess that prior to reading this book, I had run into the author on Amazon’s discussion forums and was smitten by her genuinely effervescent and kind personality. When I heard she had written a book, I was excited to get my hands on it.

Terrell’s gentle, humorous journal introduced Christian Science to me, and I read this while going through a particularly dark period in life. Her words flow easily over everyday situations while imbuing an underlying spirituality, all without a trace of condescension or arrogance – just awe and appreciation for life. Her alternating reference, probably reflecting the view of Christian Science, to God as either She or He, was acutely refreshing, as I’ve struggled with (among other things) Abrahamic religions’ emphasis on maleness.

I connected with “Blessings” because the author effortlessly lets the reader into her world. She helped remind me of the vast diversity of spiritual experiences in our world when I was ready to give up on the idea.

Fred Lloyd

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2007

One reviewer recommends this book to those who may need a lift. I recommend this book for anyone including, devoted Christian Scientists. When I came across it I wondered if it would be appropriate as a Christmas gift to my wife who is a Christian Scientist. I think it is a wonderful sharing. Karen becomes your friend, someone you know and love and you know if she knew you, she would love you the way you want to be loved. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe anyone else could have written this book. It is a stand alone item that gives us a window of life that is rare indeed.

Lisa Kristy

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2013

Verified Purchase

Karen has touched my soul with her heartwarming and hilarious rendition of the road less traveled. Everyone I know has had to listen to me go on and on about how great a read this is! Whether you want to laugh, cry, or just smile about life again, read this!!!

_

5.0 out of 5 stars All the great reviews influenced me … and they were right!!!

Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2011

Verified Purchase

OK, after reading the reviews, I thought this might make a nice Christmas present for a friend. When it arrived I decided to “peek” at a few pages, but couldn’t put it down. I finished reading it in one sitting. But how to review the book is a challenge. It leaves you with such a joyful uplifted feeling and one of appreciation and relevance. At first I found myself saying, “I want to know this woman” and after I finished the book I felt I did.

Karen brings very positive reinforcement into the reader’s experience and the easy flowing style just melts in your mouth like comfort food. I found dozens of instances where I saw a parallel in my own life, that were entertaining and inspirational in a down to earth sort of way.

I’m wearing a smile having read this and can’t think of a better way to pass an evening than this quick roller-coaster ride through another’s eyes of refreshing gratitude.

It touched my heart and soul. Highly recommended.



Review for *Gone with the Penguins* by Hazel Prior

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Note to the author: Hazel Prior, you never fail to uplift me. Thank you for sending your light out into the Cosmos. Your books give me hope for the world; bolster my courage to try to help save it; and always leave me with happy tears. Granny McReedy inspires me to never give up exploring and learning and growing.

Quotes from Gone with the Penguins:

“We will take each day as it comes. Neither of us is a stranger to grief, but we are united and we are strong. Old age is remarkably edifying. Like wartime, it highlights the fragility of life, and its preciousness. Walk, for tomorrow you may be lame. Admire the flowers, for tomorrow you may be blind. Listen to the birds, for tomorrow you may be deaf. Hug those you love, for tomorrow they may be gone. So may you. It is more important to enjoy the moment than to worry about future ones or regret past ones.”
***

“To walk is to think. To walk is to observe. To walk is to take in the wonders of the world.”
***

“Strong?” she mutters. “Well, I must say, ‘strong’ is open to interpretation. I used to believe it meant hardness, blocking off one’s feelings, never sharing, never letting on, never crying. And I suspect you think strength means diving headlong into adventures. But real strength also means trusting. Trusting others, and trusting yourself, too. Allowing yourself to feel what you feel. Knowing that, although we cannot see it, there is more, much more, beyond.”
***

“It’s the Aurora Australis, the Southern Lights,” Sir Robert gasps.

“We gaze and gaze. It seems that all the crazy, miraculous, wonderful things that have been hiding throughout my life now cannot contain themselves any longer; they are spilling out across the universe.”
***

“And slowly the swirl of snowflakes clears, and reveals hundreds upon hundreds of similar families grouped behind them, smudges of grey, black, yellow and white blending into the whiter white. Tiny chicks peek out from brood pouches, insulated by their parents’ padding. Toddlers waddle about in fuzzy fleeces, bedraggled wet fur on their nether regions, dragging tiny tails behind them. Adults look on or usher them forward. Every mother and father is swollen with pride, brimming with devotion; almost unbearable sweetness in the snow.”
***

“How can I expain to them this fire that burns within me? They see me with myopic eyes; they see me as too old. They do not realize that every old person contains a young person, one who remains wide open to change, to hope, to possibility.”
***

“We have music, though,” Eileen puts in. “And all sorts of hobbies. Did Darwin explain that? I don’t suppose tiddlywinks or knitting or singing help me survive, but they do make life so much nicer.”
***

“A ‘like’ is apparently a mark of approval from your peers. Young people collect and count them to measure their own self-worth.”
***

“Phones nowadays aren’t content to be merely phones; they pompously insist on being cameras, encyclopedias, calculators, personal trainers, news reporters, gossipmongers and much else besides. In fact, with such receptacles containing one’s entire life, one scarecely needs a brain at all. I have chosen not to possess such a machine. My brain has always worked perfectly well, and should it require a little boost, all I need to do is to consult Eileen.”
***

“No challenge should be faced without great hope, bold lipstick and a smart, good-quality handbag.”
***

19th Birthday of *Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist*

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Exactly ninteen years ago – on August 9, 2005 – I birthed my first book, Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist.

I’ve always enjoyed the process of writing – I’ve kept journals for decades – and at some point the idea came to me that it was time to share my experiences as a Christian Scientist with other people in an open and honest way. I wanted to “demystify” CS – to introduce folks unfamiliar with CS to an actual CSist (me). I felt that others would be able to relate to my life experiences, and I hoped my book would be a way for me to connect to my fellow human be-ings.

Once I started writing Blessings the words just flowed out of me. At times I felt like I wasn’t the one writing this book at all – like I was just a transmitter or something. And whenever something would happen that discouraged me – problems with the printer or my computer – I’d get a call out of the blue from Mel Schoening, the wife of the man who’d saved my Dad’s life on K2 – and she’d encourage me to keep working on this book. She’d tell me that what I was doing was important, and that she loved what I was sharing with her. (I’d sent her an early chapter about her husband’s heroics on K2, and it had really touched her.)

I got the first draft of my book done by Mother’s Day and presented copies to my mom and her sisters, Elsie and Junie, as gifts. I dedicated the book to them.

And at some point, one of my friends who’d read the first draft, suggested I look into print-on-demand publishers. I found CreateSpace – a publisher that gave me the tools to format my book for publishing, and would sell my books through Amazon and other book stores.

In those days I didn’t have any platform, really, to advertize my book – Facebook, instagram, WordPress, TikTok, Twitter – none of these social networks existed then, or if they did, I wasn’t familiar with them. But I sent out copies of my book to my friends and they ordered copies and sent them to THEIR friends, and, in a very modest way, I began to sell books on Amazon. And then I began to get reviews on Amazon. That was pretty cool.

Here are some samples:

On New Year’s Eve in 2007, when I was struggling with a massive depression and needed some reassurance from the Cosmos, I found this review waiting for me on Amazon by a man named Fred Lloyd, who had written his review just that day: “One reviewer recommends this book to those who may need a lift. I recommend this book for anyone, including devoted Christian Scientists. When I came across it I wondered if it would be appropriate as a Christmas gift to my wife who is a Christian Scientist. I think it is a wonderful sharing. Karen becomes your friend, someone you know and love and you know if she knew you, she would love you the way you want to be loved. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe anyone else could have written this book. It is a stand alone item that gives us a window of life that is rare indeed.”

RobertJ wrote: “To echo the reviews of others, I did laugh, I did cry, this book touched my soul. My wife and I read it out loud on a snowy New Hampshire day and there were numerous times when I had to pause as the lump formed in my throat. I’ve been a Christian Scientist for most of my adult life and this book tells my story and the story of many fellow travelers. I recommend this book highly for anyone who would like to see how prayer can make a difference in your life, in ways both large and small.”

VoIP-Dragon User wrote: “OK, after reading the reviews, I thought this might make a nice Christmas present for a friend. When it arrived I decided to ‘peek’ at a few pages, but couldn’t put it down. I finished reading it in one sitting. But how to review the book is a challenge. It leaves you with such a joyful uplifted feeling and one of appreciation and relevance. At first I found myself saying, ‘I want to know this woman’ and after I finished the book I felt I did. Karen brings very positive reinforcement into the reader’s experience and the easy flowing style just melts in your mouth like comfort food. I found dozens of instances where I saw a parallel in my own life, that were entertaining and inspirational in a down to earth sort of way. I’m wearing a smile having read this and can’t think of a better way to pass an evening than this quick roller-coaster ride through another’s eyes of refreshing gratitude. It touched my heart and soul. Highly recommended.”

I now have 33 reviews and 47 ratings on Amazon: 37 five-stars, four four-stars, five three-stars, and, yes, even one one-star (which comes with no review and no name to go with it – but what kind of namby-pamby writer would I be if someone didn’t hate my book enough to give it a one-star?).

This book has also brought me many beautiful and valuable friendships. Because of *Blessings* I’ve been able to connect with new friends all over the world – with Chip and his partner, Eric, in Florida; with readers in a book club in Chicago; with members of the local Unitarian Universalist church; with Norman in Africa; and with a whole host of wonderful hooligans on an Amazon discussion forum. *Blessings* has led me into cool new communities and opened new doors for me, and the encouraging responses I’ve gotten for *Blessings* over the years has touched my heart and inspired me to keep writing.

***

Here’s the Introduction to Blessings: Adventures of a Madcap Christian Scientist:

Years ago an old boyfriend said to me, “I can’t see that Christian Science has made you any better than anyone else.”

“I know!” I said, nodding my head in complete and happy agreement, “But can you imagine what I’d be like without it?!”

He raised his eyebrows and laughed. What could he say? He was looking at a self-centered, moralistic, stubborn idealist who saw everything in terms of black and white. But I could have been worse. I believe without Christian Science I would have been worse.

Let’s get one thing clear from the start: I am not the best example of a Christian Scientist. I’m not as disciplined as I could be. I have fears and worries and doubts. I’m a little neurotic. I am the Lucy Ricardo of Christian Scientists.

I should probably put in a disclaimer here, too—the views expressed in these pages are not necessarily the views shared by other Christian Scientists. Christian Scientists are really a pretty diverse group of people—there are Democrat Christian Scientists and Republican Christian Scientists, “Green,” and “Red,” and “Blue” Christian Scientists, and Christian Scientists with no political affiliations at all. Frankly, I like that about us. We keep each other on our toes.

I should also tell you that this book is not an authorized piece of Christian Science literature. If you want to actually study Christian Science you should probably read the textbook for this way of life, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

My purpose for writing this epistle is really two-fold (I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “two-fold” in my life, and using it now is making me feel sort of professorial. I like the feeling.):

First-foldly, to introduce you to one Christian Scientist so that if you ever hear someone talking fearfully and ignorantly (feargnorantly?) about Christian Scientists you’ll be in a position to say, “I have a friend who’s a Christian Scientist, and, although it’s true she’s a bit of a nut, she’s also…” and you can go on and talk about how your friend has used her study of Christian Science to try to make the world a happier place.

Second-foldly, I feel the need to acknowledge God’s blessings in my life. I don’t want to be like those nine lepers in the Bible who couldn’t take the time to thank Jesus for healing them. I want to be like that one leper who “fell down on his face at his feet” before Jesus and gave him thanks (Luke 17). Through my study of Christian Science I’ve witnessed some incredible proofs of our Father-Mother God’s love for Her creation in my life. God has filled my life with infinite blessings and it’s time for me to acknowledge these blessings to others.

-Karen Molenaar Terrell

New Reviews

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There’s a new review on Amazon for my book Cosmic Connections: Sharing the Joy!
SB writes:
“I often feel like I’m right there with the author in her small town travels and happenings. The writing is fluid, poignant, and personal, yet universal – easy to translate to any place. It got me thinking about life, love, and the smallness of this big world.”

I so appreciate when someone takes the time to write a review for one of my books. It means so much to me when I read a review like this because it helps me feel I’ve connected to someone else in a positive way.

This morning I finished reading Joanna Nell’s new book, Mrs. Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year. I love Joanna Nell’s books. Here’s the review I wrote for the one I finished this morning:

I so enjoy Joanna Nell’s stories. Joanna Nell gives dignity and respect to her aging characters. Her characters are full of life and humor, wanting to make use of every moment left to them. Her books inspire me. She makes growing old fun.

My father lived to be 101 and, even as he was losing his memory, he wanted to get out and go on drives and have adventures with me. As I read Joanna Nell’s books, I can see him as the hero in one of her stories. That makes me smile.