Joshua's Hope - An Interview with Hope Courtland

Good morning, Hope. Thank you forr agreeing to be interviewed on my blog.

I'm a little nervous, but I'm happy to share a little about my story.

You are still living in Pine Cove, Tennessee?

Yes, we are.

What brought you to Pine Cove?

**Hope smiles and her entire body seems to relax** I love Pine Cove. When I was a little girl, I spent the summers here with my grandmother. I love the mountains, the deep green of the trees, the birds singing, eagles floating high above...to me it means peace. As a little girl, I felt safe here. When Gram left me the house, I decided this was the perfect spot for me to come and heal and to find the answers I sought. I felt God had turned his back on me, and this was the closest place to HIm that I could find.

What happened that made you feel God had abandoned you?

I married the wrong man. I married for the wrong reasons. And when it all went bad, I divorced him. I'd always thought marriage should be forever. I really thought mine would last. But after our marriage, things changed. Peter wasn't the kind, caring man I thought he was. I tried to make it all work because I loved Joshua, Peter's little boy, so much. Joshua was just a baby when we got married, and to him I was his mother. When I divorced Peter, I had to walk away from Joshua. That broke my heart. I felt I had disappointed God, and that I wasn't good enough.

Peter granted you visitation rights?

Yes. He did it so he could keep his finger on my life. He knew I'd want to spend as much time as possible with Joshua. But each visit was torture. Not only did I have to fear Peter's abuse, but Joshua begged me to take him home with me. My heart broke every time I had to walk away from him...again.

Hope, what was your deepest fear?

That Joshua would suffer under Peter's hands as I had. When I saw signs of that abuse being directed at my little boy, I had to make a decision. The only way I could take Joshua away from Peter was to kidnap him. But doing so, we would have to live life on the run.

What did you do?

I can't disclose that! Your readers will have to buy my story to find out what happens. But I can tell you that my life story has a happy ending.

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Read Hope's story...JOSHUA'S HOPE...available August 29, 2008 from The Wild Rose Press.