Brendal Santucci was inspired by her faith to write a book about her experience of divorce and how she managed to get through it.

Gracefully Divorced, published in September 2023, offers advice based on experience on “how to journey through divorce by grace.”

“It’s been a journey,” Mrs Santucci said. “I never thought I would be an author. It was not on my career list of things to do.”

“My husband went through a season last year of publishing books. We were talking about my past and relationships, and he asked me where I learnt all of the things I was sharing from. I said, most of it I read.

“Also, I went to therapy; it is the things I had to tell myself to make it through my divorce. He suggested I should put it in a book. I said, ‘No, that’s not me’. I shut the idea down completely. Especially writing about my divorce, it was one of the hardest things I had to do, so why would I put it in a book?”

After a second nudge from her husband to write the book, Mrs Santucci experienced a confirmation from another source that assured her that writing this book was indeed something she was being called to do.

She said: “During the summer, I was driving my car, and the Holy Spirit said, ‘Listen, I need you to write this book. And I responded ‘no’. After I got over my no’s, I asked God: what will it be called? What do I say? What do I do? His response was, ‘I want it to be called Gracefully Divorced, and you will share how My grace got you through it.”

Finally on board, Mrs Santucci began to write. “Eighty per cent of it was written in three weeks,” she said. “I was obsessed, I could not sleep. I was up and had the urge to write.

“In August 2022 I finished writing the book and sent it to my publisher, Word World Publishing, for revisions. Originally the release date was in November 2022, but my anxiety and procrastination kept me from doing the revisions until January 2023.

“I worked on it some more and wanted to release it as a birthday present to myself in April. Again, I became anxious and procrastinated more. I did not make the final revisions until September and it was published in October.

“I was not ready to share my book with the public, hence the procrastination. I told people about it but I was not ready to share.”

She added: “Being 100 per cent honest, I was afraid. One thing I learnt about myself – and that the Lord is working on – is that I care about what other people think. And putting this book out meant I would be left to other people's opinions.

“And I don’t think I was ready for that; I don’t think anybody is prepared for that. The book puts me out there because I share one of the most vulnerable parts of my life.

“I am still in awe that God has chosen me to write this and I’m learning. Why not? Everybody goes through things in life, whether in a book or one-to-one conversations; our journey and stories can help others. And I hope that from this book people are helped.”

Readers of Gracefully Divorced can expect to experience honest conversations, spiritual comfort, and resilient resources. “You will expect to experience my journey – how I went from understanding what divorce was and my thought process guiding me to the end,” Mrs Santucci said.

“It’s general, and I try to make it relatable so that my mess can be anybody’s. There was something that I went through that was hard, but I got through it. If I can get through it, so can you.

“I share the conversations that I had with myself, articles that I read, the Bible, conversations that I had with other people; what got me through it is what I share in the book.”

Now on the other side of that difficult experience, remarried and still on her journey in grace, Mrs Santucci reflected on how writing and deciding to share her literature with the world has impacted her and how she hopes it impacts others.

“Writing the book and my divorce journey was very challenging because it challenged everything I thought and knew. It put me in a position to realise that things were the way I thought they were and most were not, and the one thing that I never expected to happen was to see God in a new light.

“I am not ashamed because I experienced His love, grace, and forgiveness. Some people go through divorce and feel shame. I get it; I’ve lived it and come out of it. And it is only because of God.

“Though He is a God that delivers judgment, He is also a loving God, a forgiving God, a graceful God, and He wants me and others to believe and choose Him, His path, and His way.

“If anyone is going through a divorce, don’t be afraid to seek assistance from a counsellor or therapist, someone to speak to. If you need to, please do that and don’t feel ashamed.

“I would also say forgive yourself and don’t be hard on yourself. It is easier said than done, but I do it for myself every day. Everybody has their own choice to make.

“I’m not trying to push Jesus or therapy on anyone; everyone has to find something that works. And if you try something and it doesn’t work, try something again, stick with it till you get your desired results.”

• Gracefully Divorced is available through Amazon and is intended to become available for sale in local bookstores