Leaving Cloud 9

In this heart-wrenching book, Andersen, former writer for the National Review, candidly shares the inspiring life story of her husband, Rick Sylvester. Sylvester grew up with an abusive mother on a trailer park called “Cloud 9”—a depressingly ironic misnomer—in rural Arizona. Sylvester and his younger sister, Jenny, were victims of neglect, abuse, and ongoing trauma as their mother stumbled through life in a haze of drugs and alcohol. Andersen highlights the many horrors Sylvester endured in his poverty-stricken environment, including violence, his mother’s prostitution, and her multiple suicide attempts. These harrowing experiences left him struggling through adulthood with PTSD as well as bipolar disorder. After two failed marriages, Sylvester met Andersen through an online dating site and the two began to carve out a healthy future together centered on their mutual faith in Christ. “Rick’s life is God-given proof that there’s something better out there,” she writes. “You don’t need the right parents or family or job or even opportunity to find it. It’s by God and only by God that it’s found.” Using Sylvester’s horrific childhood as an example, Andersen explores how relying on faith can help those who have suffered trauma overcome their circumstances. Rick’s story will appeal to Christian readers looking for an uplifting story of perseverance. (July)