I wrote the first chapter of the first draft of Something Other than God in the summer of 2008, so you can imagine how surreal it is to me to be able to tell you that the book will be released this coming Tuesday, April 29th. It’s not just a Word document that ruins my life after all! It’s a real book! With pages and a dustjacket and stuff!

I’ve also been not-so-patiently waiting to reveal the full list of endorsements the book has received:

“This heartfelt book is a lovely account of a spiritual journey and a charming memoir. The author’s epiphanies are wonderfully conveyed and will resonate with readers.” – Dean Koontz, #1 New York Times Bestselling author * “Countless men and women find themselves astonished, overwhelmed, and swept off their feet by God’s ravishing grace, but rarely has anyone described the experience as honestly and compellingly as Jennifer Fulwiler has. This powerful conversion story deserves to be ranked alongside classics such as Augustine’s Confessions and Newman’s Apologia.”

– Patrick Madrid, bestselling author and host of the “Right Here, Right Now” radio show * “Of all the religious memoirs I’ve read, I can honestly say Jennifer Fulwiler’s is the best. Please don’t ask me how many religious memoirs I have read.” – Tucker Max, bestselling author of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell * “A humorous, uplifting story about one woman’s journey from lifelong unbelief to both faith and an intimate relationship with Jesus and His Church — Something Other Than God joins science, faith, and reason in an engrossing read.”

– Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York * “Thought-provoking, honest, and often hilarious. It will strike a chord with anyone who ever posed — or tried unsuccessfully to avoid — the big questions of life.”

– Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home * “Jennifer Fulwiler’s story of finding God when you aren’t looking for Him is a universal tale which will touch many hearts. With warmth and unflinching candor she leads us through a personal journey of faith and maturity that is as funny as it is affecting.” – Raymond Arroyo, host of The World Over, New York Times Bestselling Author * “Touching, inspiring, provocative and, above all, real. Fulwiler’s memoir shows us that while we’re seeking God, He is seeking us even more.”

– James Martin, SJ, author, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything * “Jen Fulwiler is one smart cookie. Open to the movement of grace in her life, she submitted that extremely bright mind of hers to the God who made it and chose to use, rather than worship, her intellect in the search for truth. We are all the richer for it.”

– Mark Shea, author, Making Senses Out of Scripture: Reading the Bible as the First Christians Did * “Something Other Than God could have been called Indiana Fulwiler and the Quest for Truth. This is a personal conversion story that reads like an adventure novel one cannot put down. Trained by her scientist father to identify and uncover ancient treasures, our driven protagonist spends a lifetime on the hunt, engaging both heart and head as she tracks down first what is desirable, then what is meaningful, until, finally — working her way through the clinging vines of conventions, the rolling hazards of memory and the brutal realities of suffering — she locates a priceless and eternal prize that had always awaited her. Intellectually satisfying, spiritually affirming and populated with peripheral characters that make you wish you knew them, too, Something Other Than God is an authentic and authentically entertaining must-read!” – Elizabeth Scalia, author, Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life and the blogger on Patheos known as The Anchoress

As I was pulling together the list of blurbs, I happened to come across this picture, which was taken the same month that I began writing the book:

It wasn’t until I looked at that picture that it really hit me just how hard I worked on this manuscript.

I suddenly remembered long-forgotten moments of struggling through morning sickness to bang out a few works at 6 AM before the kids woke; the times I was sure that my literary agent would say it was brilliant and he’d send me back to the drawing board yet again; the day I read through Joe’s feedback on the third draft and wondered why I was surprised that my lawyer husband would write notes like, “This is boring. It also makes you seem insane.”

I remembered the moment I settled into a booth at an Indian restaurant to read the feedback of a top developmental editor from New York whom my agent suggested I work with. Her critiques were wonderful and kind, but they left me profoundly humbled — and discouraged to the point of tears — as I understood how much work was left to do to make this book shine. I can still smell the cumin and curry that lingered in the air as I stared out the window and wondered if maybe it was time to admit that I’m a talentless hack who needs to give up on the written word.

What you will read on Tuesday is not my first book, but my third or fourth. There were three full versions that were either scrapped or completely revised before even the rough draft of this final manuscript was completed.

What I didn’t understand when I began this process is that writing is like any other artform: Just as a painter couldn’t expect to capture the essence of a winter sunrise the first time he slapped paint on a canvas, an author can’t expect the first draft of a book to fully capture the real story.

When I read what the amazing folks listed above have said about this book, it makes me grateful for every single minute I spent trying to get it right. I am thrilled and honored to be able to share this story with you after all these years. I am counting the minutes until I can talk about everything with you!

Most of all, I hope that when you close the book after reading the last word on the last page, you’ll say to yourself the five simple words that are the highest compliment any author could receive: That was a good read.

P.S. Be sure to check in next week, because I’ll be announcing all sorts of fun stuff we’ll be doing to celebrate this long-awaited date!

P.P.S. Don’t forget that if you place your order before Monday night, you get a free ebook where I talk about the life philosophy that helped me get the book written!

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