The Lily Cafe is thrilled to present a guest post by Lynda Schmidt, author of The Holding, a fiction novel about family and healing from abuse and a special bond between a father and daughter.
Title: The Holding
Author: Lynda Schmidt
Publisher: OC Publishing
Publication date: April 23, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Family is the Foundation of Resilience
I believe early childhood experiences are incredibly important and that a loving family foundation has the power to build emotional, physical, and mental resilience in children. In my novel, The Holding, I develop this theme through the life adventures of my main character, Cate Henderson. While Cate encounters extreme hardships, she finds the strength to overcome them through the unconditional love of her father and the confidence that comes from being raised in a loving, safe, and supportive home.
Safety & Security
In chapter one, baby Cate is sick with a fever, curled up in her crib in a restless sleep, when her father comes into her room, the newly-purchased bottle of Children’s Tylenol in hand. William leans over the crib railing and gently wakens her to give her a spoonful of medicine. When Cate wakes up later, crying out for her daddy, William rushes in to comfort her. He plucks her from her moist blankets and he rocks her while he sings his version of the mockingbird song, “Hush little Caty-bug, don’t you cry… Daddy’s always gonna be here to take care of you.”
Place of Refuge
When four-year-old Cate is repeatedly sexually assaulted by her babysitter’s teenage grandson, her body has to endure the abuse, but her spirit disassociates. She imagines scenarios where she sees herself in a garden with Jesus, her face being held by the hands of God, and safe at home, in her father’s hands, “her place of refuge.” Terrified to tell anyone, the foundation of unconditional love provides Cate the inner strength she needs to get through her incredibly painful and traumatic ordeal.
Perseverance & Determination
Later in the story, William is teaching young Cate how to ride her bicycle without training wheels. She struggles to find her balance and topples over many times. She falls and scrapes her hands in the rocky gravel of the alley behind their home, bringing tears to her eyes. “William helps her get up and once she is seated firmly, he holds her bicycle steady by the handlebars and tells her… ‘You can do this, I know you can. Just because some things don’t come easy, doesn’t mean you should give up.” Eventually Cate achieves success and she feels grateful that her father refused to give up on her.
Consistency is Key
Cate continues to learn some of the hard lessons in life; to think before she speaks, and that sometimes life just isn’t fair. She deals with being bullied at school by a girl she thought was her friend, and teased for her lack of hand-eye coordination and athletic ability, always the last to be chosen for team sports. Throughout it all, William is firm but loving, and most importantly, he is consistent. He doesn’t hold things over her forever, building up grudges, but tells her; “tomorrow is a new day.”
The Power of Love
The Holding is a fiction, but it is based on real life events. Like my character, Cate, I was one of those fortunate children to be born into a family that loved me. I faced challenges similar to those in the novel. But it is my conviction that feeling absolutely adored, loved and cherished was one of the pivotal experiences that shaped me into becoming the loving, kind, and joyful person I am.
Overcoming Adversity
I have faced my share of trials and tribulations, but, like my character Cate, I’ve overcome them. I’ve done more than survive; I’ve thrived. I’ve been able to hold onto my optimistic views of the world and to be someone who gets in the ring and never gives up. I’ve been able to rise above so many challenges to achieve success and happiness in life, despite it all.
Family Foundation
It’s clear to me, strong families are worth striving to create, protect and support. I feel it is essential for us to learn as societies how to work to build these strong foundational experiences for children. They are the future, but more than that, they are the promise of humanity’s ability to evolve, to overcome, and to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to become their very best.
About Lynda Schmidt
Lynda Faye Schmidt believes that loving and creating is her life purpose. Whether that manifests in building meaningful relationships, writing blogs and novels, or simply preparing gorgeous food, she loves to be fully engaged in the process.
Lynda writes emotionally impacting, character-driven novels based on real-life experiences. She has been honing her craft since she began scribbling poetry in the back of her elementary school exercise books. She has a massive collection of journals, which are her foundational reflective and creative tools.
In 1988, Lynda earned a Bachelor of Education, majoring in reading and language at the University of Calgary. During her more than twenty-year career as a teacher, she held positions from kindergarten to grade nine, in both typical and special needs settings.
As part of her life-long interest in reading and writing, Lynda has attended writing workshops, was a member of the Writer’s Guild of Alberta, completed a creative writing course at Mount Royal College and finished the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She started a blog in 2016, Musings of an Emotional Creature and was a contributor for DQ Living magazine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Lynda writes women’s fiction with strong messages about self-growth, healing and transformation. Her first novel, The Healing, was published in April, 2021. Her second novel, The Holding, a prequel, launches April 23, 2022. She has a goal, to write and publish a novel a year and her third novel, The Rogue Scorpion, is on-schedule for release in 2023.
To find out more, click on her website: www.lyndafayeschmidt.com
Connect with Lynda Schmidt
Thank you so much, Lynda!
The author of this post, Lynda Schmidt, retains all rights to the guest post published above, which may not be copied, reproduced, modified, sold, or distributed without the author’s express permission. To contact Lynda Schmidt to request permission to utilize the above guest post, please send your inquiry to Kat via the Contact page.
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