Leaving (30 page)

Karen’s book
Oceans Apart
changed my life. She has an amazing gift of bringing a reader into her stories. I can only pray she never stops writing.

Susan L.

Everyone should have the opportunity to read or listen to a book by Karen Kingsbury. It should be in the
Bill of Rights.

Rachel S.

I want to thank Karen Kingsbury for what she is doing with the power of her storytelling—touching hearts like mine and letting God use her to change the world for Him.

Brittney N.

Karen Kingsbury’s books are filled with the unshakable, remarkable, miraculous fact that God’s grace is greater than our suffering. There are no words for Ms. Kingsbury’s writing.

Wendie K.

Because I loaned these books to my mother, she BECAME a Christian! Thank you for a richer life here and in heaven!

Jennifer E.

When I read my first Karen Kingsbury book, I couldn’t stop…. I read thirteen more in one summer!

Jamie B.

I have never read anything so uplifting and entertaining. I’m shocked as I read each new release because it’s always better than the last one.

Bonnie S.

I am unable to put your books down, and I plan to read many more of them. What a wonderful spiritual message I find in each one!

Rhonda T.

I love the way Karen Kingsbury writes, and the topics she chooses to write about! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us, your readers!

Barbara S.

My husband is equally hooked on your books. It is a family affair for us now! Can’t wait for the next one.

Angie

I can’t even begin to tell you what your books mean to me…. Thank you for your wonderful books and the way they touch my life again and again.

Martje L.

Every time our school buys your next new book, everybody goes crazy trying to read it first!

Roxanne

Recently I made an effort to find GOOD Christian writers, and I’ve hit the jackpot with Karen Kingsbury!

Linda

When Karen Kingsbury calls her books “Life-Changing Fiction
^™
,” she’s merely telling the unvarnished truth. I’m still sorting through the changes in my life that have come from reading just a few of her books!

Robert M.

I must admit that I wish I was a much slower reader … or you were a much faster writer. Either way, I can’t seem to get enough of Karen Kingsbury’s books!

Jillian B.

I was offered $50 one time in the airport for the fourth book in the Redemption Series. The lady’s husband just couldn’t understand why I wasn’t interested in selling it. Through sharing Karen’s books with my friends, many have decided that contemporary Christian fiction is the next best thing to the Bible. Thank you so much, Karen. It is truly a God-thing that you write the way you do.

Sue Ellen H.

Karen Kingsbury’s books have made me see things in ways that I had never thought about before. I have to force myself to put them down and come up for air!

Tabitha H.

I have read many of Karen’s books and I cry with every one. I feel like I actually know the people in the story, and my heart goes out to all of them when something happens!

Kathy N.

Wow, what an amazing author Karen Kingsbury is! Her stories are so heart-wrenching … I can’t wait until the next book comes out…. Karen, please don’t ever lay your pen down.

Nancy T.

Karen Kingsbury’s words leap off the page…. I just finished a new series last night and once again she has touched me beyond compare!

Kendra S.

F
OR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW
, I’
VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF
offering Forever in Fiction
^®
*
as an auction item at fund-raisers across the country. So many of my more recent books have had Forever in Fiction characters that I hear from you reader friends how you look forward to this part of my novels, reading this section to see which characters in the coming pages are actually inspired by real-life people, and learning a little about their real stories. Then you enjoy looking for them in the coming pages, knowing with a smile how it must feel to their families, seeing their names Forever in Fiction.

In
Leaving
I bring you two very special Forever in Fiction characters. The first is Kassie Garman, a darling three-year-old who lost her battle with leukemia a few years back. Kassie was a precious sweetheart, loved by all who knew her — especially her grandparents, Ivan and Charmaine Garman — who won Forever in Fiction at the Lams Lititz Area Mennonite School auction.

During her brief life Kassie loved to play with her two older brothers, one of whom was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant, which was performed five months before her death. She loved sucking her thumb and cuddling with her family and looking at picture books. Kassie lived with a mild form of Down Syndrome, so communication was usually done through her own form of sign language. But her favorite way to convey her feelings was simply with a smile. When Kassie smiled, everyone felt loved. She had that special sort of gift, a gift that today has made heaven a little brighter as a result.

I chose to keep Kassie’s place in
Leaving
very much like her place in life. In the pages of this book, she plays the role of a sick girl who gives one of the main characters greater purpose in life. Because that’s how Kassie was in real life, bringing purpose and meaning to the lives of everyone who loved her.

Ivan and Charmaine, it is my prayer that you will smile when you see Kassie honored in the pages of
Leaving
and that you will treasure this book, where she will live on, Forever in Fiction.

My second character Forever in Fiction is Roberta Johnson, a mother of five and a leukemia survivor. Roberta was placed Forever in Fiction by her friend, Jennifer Grieve, who won this chance at the St. Joseph’s Catholic School auction. Roberta loves God and her family, and is known by her friends for her outgoing, positive attitude and her strong ability to live as an example for others around her.

Roberta is the mother of six children, including one she gave up for adoption when she was twenty-three. She loves reading and teaching the Bible, and has found ways to bring Scripture to life by doing mission work in Chimbote, Peru. Twice she has hosted exchange students from Mexico. She volunteers her time at homeless shelters and encourages her adult children to do the same.

I chose to make Roberta the neighbor of Jenny Flanigan, a friend who has said goodbye to young adult children, and who can understand the season of life Jenny is entering. Roberta, I pray that you feel honored by your placement in
Leaving,
and the way that your friend Jennifer chose to put you Forever in Fiction. Keep shining for Jesus!

In addition, here are the names of reader friends who helped raise money for a field campaign at King’s Way Christian High School in Washington State. These winners each donated $100 for the privilege of having themselves or someone they love recognized here, Forever in Fiction:

The winner of this auction is Marcia Ridenour, whose Forever in Fiction package will play out in one of the future Bailey Flanigan Series books.

For those of you who are not familiar with Forever in Fiction, it is my way of involving you, the readers, in my stories, while raising money for charities. The winning bidder of a Forever in Fiction package has the right to have his or her name or the name of a friend or family member written into one of my novels. In this way this person (or the loved one he or she chooses) will be Forever in Fiction. To date, Forever in Fiction has raised more than $200,000 at charity auctions. Obviously, I am only able to donate a limited number of these each year. For that reason I have set a fairly high minimum bid on this package so the maximum funds are raised for charities. All money goes to the charity events.

^*
Forever in Fiction is a registered trademark owned by Karen Kingsbury.

ZONDERVAN

Leaving
Copyright © 2011 by Karen Kingsbury

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2011 ISBN: 978-0-310-41198-7

This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook.
Visit
www.zondervan.com/ebooks.

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Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan,
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN 978-0-310-26628-0

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible,
New International Version
^®,
NIV
^®
.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.
^™
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.
www.alivecommunications.com

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, institutions or locales are intended only to give a sense of reality and authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other names, characters and places, and all dialogue and incidents portrayed in this book, are the product of the author’s imagination.

Cover photography: Bill Tucker Studios, iStockphoto
^®
, Shutterstock
^®

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