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reply to a survey. He replied and two days later received a phone call from a representative of the publishing company. Bain shared Christie’s journey with the representative and she said she “had chills.” He’s not sure whether it was a Google algorithm that dropped that email into his Gmail account that day, but he says for sure he knows now that something greater was indeed at work. Time went on and Bain continued to write. Finally, on August 10, 2020, Bain submitted his manuscript to Christian Faith Publishing. After a six-person review board read his book, Bain heard his book met all the criteria, and they were ready to move forward with publishing. “The process of writing a book takes a lot of time,” Bain shared. “I am fortunate I wrote mine in about eight months. Then there was another five months of editing, typesetting and cover design that took place with the publisher.” Christie’s Journey, The Beat Goes On , was published on January 11, 2021, and became available to the public worldwide the last week of February 2021. The book can be found at our very own Texarkana Public Library and several other libraries around the area. It is also available online at Amazon, WalMart, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and virtually anywhere books are sold. “The thoughts in my head constantly were of grief, sadness, terror and overwhelming gratitude,” Bain shared. “Writing every day for eight months and getting our family experience typed out was very therapeutic. I always said while I was going through this process that even if it did not become a book, that we would at least
have this archived for our family, especially for my grandchildren, Natalie and Westin. It is also something that Christie and Andrea really did not want to discuss. They just wanted to move forward. Once I started asking more questions, they both opened up more and discussed it.” Bain recalled, “It was good for both of them as well and there were some things that happened that Christie hadn’t remembered. I now know that when people read our story, they can see how God lined up angels here on earth to help Christie. I also want to highlight God’s miraculous healing power and love. I tell people that we realize as a family that we are very fortunate and that things like this don’t always go like families pray for. I don’t have answers for that, but I must have faith that the Lord has a plan for us all. For that, I’m thankful!” Other than Firth’s medications and her doctor visits once every six months, life is “pretty much back to normal,” she said. “Now I just want to stay as healthy as I can be and enjoy every moment that I am here on this earth with my family and friends. I am very blessed to have my heart back to normal after everything I have been through.” Firth continued, “I like to use my story to encourage others by letting them know how important it is to learn CPR. If CPR had not been started on me as soon as my co-workers saw me down, then I most likely wouldn’t be here to tell my story today. Also, God is with you every step of the way and He performs miracles all the time. You just have to keep the faith and know that God has a plan for you!”
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