I am blessed to be part of a very small, but extremely talented, group of writers. Four of us make up a critique group—two fiction authors and two non-fiction authors. Wendy Cunningham is one of the non-fiction authors. Her book, What If You’re Wrong, is truly a unique work that will draw both believers and non-believers into her story. I believe this book will have a tremendous impact for kingdom glory, and I wanted you to meet her.
Tell us a little about yourself—where you grew up, how you ended up living in Tennessee; married? Kids? (I know this, of course, but the readers don’t):
God brought us to Tennessee. We dreamed we’d one day have property to homestead and we wanted to raise our kids on a farm. God really narrowed our sights on Middle Tennessee, and we found the perfect 84-acre property here just south of Columbia. It’s been an adventure, but I can honestly say God has laid out the path and made it clear this is where we’re meant to be.
I know you’re a successful businesswoman—tell us something of that journey:
I’m an Independent Consultant and National Vice President with Arbonne and have been with the company for eleven years. It’s been a tremendous blessing and has allowed our family the choice and flexibility I wasn’t able to find in the traditional workspace. Entrepreneurship has its challenges, but the personal growth and faith journey this business has put me on and brought me though absolutely crafted the person, writer, and God-fearing woman I am today.
Tell us about your non-fiction book. What’s it about?
What If You’re Wrong is about my journey from Atheism to Christianity and it starts with the question that inspired the title. When I met my husband, I was a little put off to discover he was a Christian. I was raised as an Atheist and held a negative view of Christianity. Our relationship progressed quickly but our conversations about God did not—we butted heads often. But as my husband continued to ask questions about my beliefs (or lack thereof) I discovered that although I knew what I believed I didn’t have many good answers as to why I believed it. This sent me on a journey to discover what the absolute truth was about God.
What inspired you to write it?
I was driving my kids to Vacation Bible School (VBS) two summers ago, thinking about my journey and how far I’d come from what I originally thought was the truth, and I felt God put this book on my heart. It was so clear exactly what I needed to share and what made my journey unique. A lot of Christians attempt to share the truth about Jesus with a non-believer via the Gospels, and although that might work for some, it certainly had never worked for me. I didn’t believe in the Bible, or Jesus, or God. I wasn’t searching for answers; I thought I had then. My husband challenged those answers to help me see where my holes were, and then posed new questions for me to consider like “Could you have been Created?” I had to come to God before I could come to Jesus or the Bible.
What is the key message you hope your readers will come away with?
There is an absolute truth about God, and it can be discovered, known, and trusted.
What is your plan for the book? Self-publish? Traditional publisher? And why that choice?
Currently, I’m on a path towards self-publishing just because that’s where I feel God has led me thus far. I have a contract with WestBow Press. I did explore getting an agent and going the traditional road but didn’t feel like it was the best fit at the time. I am open to a different avenue, if those doors open, but I’m eager to get the book into hands and self-publishing is the fastest way to do that.
Is there another book in you after this?
Actually, just recently I felt the prompting to write a book about raising Christians. There is an epidemic of kids leaving the church and their faith in high school and college and I want to explore why that’s happening and how we, as parents, can best equip our kids to anchor into faith. I’d like to interview adult believers with strong faiths about what their parents did well to help them in their faith walk.
I also think there is space to write a companion bible study to go along with What If You’re Wrong?
You can connect with Wendy and be a part of her journey by signing up for her newsletter at her website gainingmyperspective.com. You can also follow her on Instagram at a.wendy.bird
