Barbara Schultze: Spotlight on Trust the Wings & a Giveaway
Please help me welcome Barbara Schultze to the blog this week! Barbara is sharing about her debut novel, Trust the Wings, and is giving away a copy to one winner! (paperback or eBook to a US winner OR an eBook to an international winner)
Be sure to comment below by February 24 for a chance to win!
In my twenty-five years as a home care nurse and seven years as a hospice chaplain, I was often urged by my husband, “You’ve got to write up these stories! They’re incredible!” The glaring issue, though, was the ethical need to maintain patient confidentiality. Besides that, I was working full-time and raising a young family. When did I have the time?
The answer to these dilemmas was—make notes along the way and, finally, the time will come in retirement to put it all together. At the same time, my husband and I became avid birders, so my writing is sprinkled with bird images—my protagonist is likened to a starling (an invasive species,) her mother to an owl, and of course, the title of my novel, Trust the Wings.
I’m often asked if the episodes in Trust the Wings really happened to me. Yes and no. I took bits and pieces from my own experiences and those of my colleagues, embellished and fictionalized them. And some characters and incidents are completely imagined—for example, I was never stuck in a plummeting elevator with an elderly woman praying the rosary!
And Aviana showed up completely unexpectedly as my alter-ego, appropriated my story, and the novel became something entirely new, yet achingly real, a story of despair and hope, injury and recovery. Trust the Wings subtly demonstrates God’s gentle pursuance of one of his children who, through hurt and disappointment, has wandered off to find her own way.
Trust the Wings (Edenridge Press 2025), is full of heartache and humor. It tells the story of Aviana’s resilience when she encounters roadblocks in her desired career goal—chief nursing officer at a large hospital. Soon she stumbles onto revelations about her deceased mother and must address the decline of her estranged father, who is spiraling into dementia.
Stymied while trying to manage appropriate care for him without the help of her siblings, she wanders into a church to sit in peace. There, she receives an unexpected challenge from an insightful counselor and a stained-glass Jesus.
Avy gives up her career aspirations and takes an entry-level position as a home care nurse in her small hometown of Berndtbridge in order to manage her belligerent father. She finds herself serving a wide range of patients—such as an Orthodox Jewish grandmother who’s just had a debilitating stroke but still plans to dance at her granddaughter’s upcoming wedding, a drunk ex-cop living in a crack house, and a crusty World War II veteran who makes home brew in a crock on his stove while his elderly sister flits like a ghost in the background. She begins to lower her defenses and is gradually transformed into a caregiver who learns to receive care as well.
Along with her mother’s words, her renewed friendship with an old boyfriend and his compassionate mother, and her growing conviction that God is guiding her, she releases her need to prove herself, finds the grace and loving acceptance she longed for, and rises up in hope, trusting the wings.
Thanks so much for sharing about your novel with us, Barbara! After the care my mother received from her hospice nurse in her final weeks about five years ago, I have the utmost respect and admiration for you! Your novel sounds wonderful!
Comment on Barbara Schultze’s spotlight post on the #HopeFilledFiction blog by 2/24 for a chance to win her novel, Trust the Wings! #giveaway
TweetJoin the conversation. What part of Barbara’s post resonates with you most? Does her book sound like a story you’d like to read? What questions or comments do you have for Barbara?
Be sure to comment below by February 24 for a chance to win a copy of Barbara’s novel! (US winner – paperback or eBook; International winner – eBook only)
Trust the Wings by Barbara Schultze
Click the book cover for Amazon link
Aviana Lehrer thinks she has finally reached the pinnacle of her career as a hospital executive in Denver when her life shatters and she is sucked back into the oppressive family drama she escaped ten years earlier. In order to ensure that her mentally deteriorating father stays out of trouble, she gives up her dream of big-city hospital administration, moves back home to the town of Berndtbridge, Michigan, and takes an entry-level position as a home care nurse under the tutelage of a far-less-experienced mentor.
But against Aviana’s wishes, her medley of idiosyncratic patients—such as a towering drunk living in a crack house, a young man battling AIDS, a retired university professor living in a book-filled house with his ghostly elder sister, and an Orthodox Jewish matriarch who has suffered a debilitating stroke yet insists she will dance at her granddaughter’s approaching wedding—infiltrate her life and begin transforming her own sense of priorities.
Her patients begin filling the void in her heart created by her dysfunctional family and the untimely death of her mother—the only person who she believed loved her. She also discovers her deceased mother’s journal, which reveals shocking information about her parents, siblings, and herself.
Finally, faced with her own major health issue—a large tumor resting beside her spine, Aviana uncovers the answer to an unmentionable family secret. Trusting the unfolding wings of purpose and belonging in her life, she finds that she is rising up into a satisfying life that she never imagined.
Barbara Schultze is a retired nurse and chaplain living in Grand Rapids, MI. She has always loved escaping into literature and reads voraciously. At Wheaton College she earned a BA in Literature and was a published poet. She returned to school twice, completing a nursing degree at Calvin University and a Masters in Pastoral Care from Calvin Theological Seminary.
She is married to Quentin Schultze and has two children and two grandchildren. She paints watercolors, journals, and enjoys photography. Together with her husband, she loves playing Scrabble and going on birding adventures. The Bible verse that guides her is Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Please share Barbara’s spotlight on social media to help spread the word about her novel!
If you missed my spotlight post on Michelle Shocklee last week, FIND IT HERE.
Deena Adams
As a Jesus girl for more than thirty years, Deena Adams understands how important hope is to daily life, which fuels her passion to inspire others through hope-filled fiction based on true to life stories. She is a multi-award-winning author, an active ACFW member, and a six-year ACFW Virginia board member. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
20 Comments
Deena Adams
Congratulations, Kelly V., you’re the winner of Barbara’s giveaway! Please follow the instructions in your email to claim your book.
Kelly V.
Although different from my normal genre, this sounds like a fascinating novel.
Barbara Schultze
Thank you, Kelly. I hope you’ll give it a try!
Deena Adams
I agree, Kelly! I hope you get a chance to read it. I’d love to know what you think if you do.
SARAH TAYLOR
Thank You for sharing this post this is a New to me Author and her book sounds amazing
Deena Adams
My pleasure, Sarah. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Karen
One of my daughters is about to study nursing in college. This book sounds like a fascinating read!
Deena Adams
Yay for your daughter, Karen! My niece is a nurse, and we’re all so proud of her. Thanks for your comment!
Barbara Schultze
Thank you for your comment, Karen. I think your daughter would find the story eye-opening. There are many avenues for a nursing student to consider. A lot depends on her reasons for entering the field, her inate personality, and her life outside of her work. I found my joy in home care where I could help people manage to age in place with loved ones supporting them. But I also worked in hospital nursing and as a chaplain where I served people in crisis. More power to her, and prayers that she finds her wings in the right setting.
Barbara Schultze
Thank you for your kind comment! I hope you are blessed by my book
Barbara Schultze
It’s exciting to see my novel on Hope-Filled Fiction! Thanks to Deena for her great work in bring books like mine to the attention of readers. I’d love to hear from some of you, too!
Deena Adams
It’s a pleasure having you on the blog, Barbara! Thanks for sharing about your wonderful book with us.
Lynn Moore
Deena…. what a beautiful interview. And, yes, I would love to read this!
Barbara…… the details you shared of your book along with the cover & the title itself makes this a “must read” for me! Continued blessings on your writing!
Barbara Schultze
Lynn,
What a lovely response to my interview with Deena. Thank you so much!
The novel is available from Amazon at https://amzn.to/484etnZ or directly from me at a discounted rate at
https://quentin-schultze.square.site/
Blessings,
Barbara
Deena Adams
Thanks for joining the conversation, Lynn! I hope you get to read Barbara’s book soon and that you’ll love it.
Cheryl Grey Bostrom
Barbara’s debut: Such a good read! Highly recommended!
Deena Adams
Thanks for sharing your praise for Barbara’s book, Cheryl!
Donna Irvin
This book resonates with me because I am an RN, worked in hospice for 8 yrars, work in homecare nursing now, and struggle with my own autoimmune disease issues. I love reading books with nursing and healthcare Issues as the storyline! I have seen a lot of these issues in my nursing career, hospice, dementia, families struggling with caregiving problems. It will be exciting to read the book!
Deena Adams
Thank you for your comment, Donna. And thank you for all you do as a nurse to care for others! I’m sure it’s very difficult to persevere through all the hard stuff, but so rewarding as well. I hope you enjoy Barbara’s book when you get a chance to read it.
Barbara Schultze
Donna, we sound like kindred spirits! I hope you love the story!