Scared by Tom Davis

As an adoptive Mom, I am always appreciative of people who bring a positive light to adoption. While I did not have to travel half-way around the world, and my son was not waiting in an orphanage or living on the street, I know there are many orphans in our world. We were blessed to bring our son home straight from the hospital. Many of my friends traveled thousands of miles and spent many days (or even weeks) in a strange land. The United Nations estimates that the world orphan population is over 143 million children! That is a lot of children who need homes.

In his new novel Scared, Tom Davis shares a beautiful story of redemption in a land far from ours.

Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World, follows the story of U.S. photojournalist Stuart Daniels and a young Swazi girl, Adanna. Like many in her country, she finds herself as the head of her household in a land with little to offer anyone in need. Termed “Nation of Orphans,” Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The themes of the story are not easy – disease, hunger, death, and man’s basest evil toward his fellow man, even children. Reality in Swaziland isn’t easy for anyone. In fiction, as in life, the characters show a resilience of spirit in the face of unthinkable adversity. In the same way, their stories display the power of relationship, human and divine, to heal and restore.

Stuart Daniels, a battle- and life-worn photojournalist, has taken what he believes may be the last of his assignments. His personal life, including his marriage, is a disaster. He’s haunted by an award-winning photo that made his career, but has left him a shell of a person. Adanna is a young Swazi girl with an incredible gift, a voice that cries out for her people.

Scared is a testimony of the power of words to sustain and change lives – and the power of God to bring light and new life, even to the darkest places. As Christian Fiction Online Magazine reviewer, Michelle Sutton, stated: “You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be emotionally moved when you read Scared. The entire time I read this book I was in Africa right along with the characters. That's great writing.”

Enter the world of Scared, and you will find yourself transported to a different world. Certainly moved. Maybe even transformed.