“This is a book about loss and about life, about despair and hope, about darkness and dawn. It begins with a personal accounting of a parent’s worse highway nightmare and ends along a winding road where happier dreams may still be found. The central character in this story is Bethany Rush Cartledge, a sunny seven-year-old girl who dies in the first chapter but lives on every page.”

So begins A Whole New World, the story of Jan and Tony Cartledge’s loss of their young daughter Bethany. Writing separately and together, they invite the reader to walk with them on their journey through the shock of Bethany’s death, the numbness and pain of the first year without her, and the healing process of the decade that followed. As ministers, both Tony and Jan struggled with the theological implications of tragedy and loss, as well as the psychological polarities of choosing to live as victims or as survivors. Their story will touch the hearts, minds and spirits of those who read it.

Included in this book is a study guide for use by individuals or small groups seeking a study of hope after despair. In addition, the appendices include considerations of how to deal with tragedy and death with children and youth, as well as a select bibliography of grief resources.

Jan Cartledge has served on the ministry staff of three churches and is currently pastor of administration and leadership for HomeStar Fellowship, a Baptist congregation in Raleigh. Learn more about Jan Cartledge.

Tony Cartledge is editor of the Biblical Recorder and the author of several books, including Intrigued, How I Love to Proclaim It and 1 & 2 Samuel: Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, both published by Smyth & Helwys. Learn more about Tony Cartledge.