MSI Press Blog

  Recently released: the audiobook edition of It Only Hurts When I Can't Run by Gewanda Parker. Book description: It Only Hurts When I Can’t Run is a raw, inspiring memoir of survival, faith, and unbreakable resilience. Abused, abandoned, and passed between foster homes, friends, and relatives, a young girl faces unthinkable trauma—including sexual assault at the hands of those deemed trustworthy. Yet, through every betrayal and heartbreak, she finds strength in motion—physically running, and spiritually running toward hope. Told with courageous honesty, this powerful story traces her transformation from a wounded child into an educator, minister, and entrepreneur. With unwavering trust in God, she not only survives but forgives—and ultimately shares a life-changing message of healing for others walking through pain. For readers of inspirational true stories, abuse survival memoirs, and faith-based journeys of redemption , this book offers both heartbreak and healing in equal m...

  Today's back story is about the book, It Only Hurts When I Can't Run  by Gewanda Parker. From the publisher: When Gewanda approached us with her pre-publication manuscript, it was clear that here was a person who had experienced tremendous trauma as a child. That is a story, of course. A sad story. However, what was also clear was her resilience in overcoming that trauma very, very successfully. That was a story worth publishing. An uplifting story. A story that can help others. More important for us as publisher, it fit into a line of such books, the leaders of which were Elizabeth Mahlou's Blest Atheist and Geri Henderson's and Seanne Emerton's Healing from Incest -- and ultimate prompted the commissioned book by Joanna Romer, Recovering from Domestic Abuse, Stalking, and Abuse . When it was released, Gewanda's book quickly flew to the top of Amazon's hot new releases lists: #4 Hot New Releases in the child abuse category #8 Hot New Releases in the fam...

  Gewanda Parker, author of  It Only Hurts When I Can't Run , talks about  The Power of Choice: Creating a Life of Purpose and Fulfillment - YouTube  in a recent video. Short and worth watching! A paperback edition of Gewanda's book is available at the  MSI Press webstore . For more posts about Gewanda and her book, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  X ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Fi...

  excerpt from It Only Hurts When I Can't Run by Gewanda Parker Introduction   I believe in a God who heals, delivers, and sets captives free. Because God in His mercy did this for me, I have to let the world know that if God can do it for me, surely God can do it for the next person. That is why I had to write this book—and I must admit that writing this narrative has been an unexpectedly tedious but healing journey.   I remember the day I began writing about the sexual abuse in my life. I started writing early in the day. I wrote for about four hours. I revisited every encounter I remembered from ages five to sixteen. When I finished, I erupted into tears. This flood of emotions lasted for nearly six hours. Anger, hurt, scarring, shame, betrayals, disbelief and even fear gripped me to the core of my being. When I had finally stopped, the time seemed to have slipped by because it was well past 11p.m.   On this occasion, God and my good friend were there. She sat th...

  Exceprt from It Only Hurts When I Can't Run 23. Belt in te Face By the time I was twelve, in the seventh grade, and still under Miss Taylor’s thumb, our relationship had slowly deteriorated. It wasn’t completely my fault. It began with Miss Taylor being preoccupied with her friendship with one of her church sisters, Mrs. Manor, forcing me into give-and-take with the two Manor girls my age; fortunately, I could ignore the Manor boys.       The Manor family lived in Sebring’s country outskirts. Miss Taylor would take me, Jon, and any other kids in her temporary care to the country. The county scents that changed from sweet to foul, depending on where you stood in the yard, surprised and invigorated me. Dodging snorting pigs and running after chickens (or from them, in my case, because I thought they were crazed beasts) put a lot of glee into the day. Playing in a smelly trailer hidden in the woods made it seem like we had our own personal house. Eating frie...

  Not only is Rev. Gewanda Parker a talented writer ( It Only Hurts When I Can't Run ) and speaker, she is also a talented singer. Treat yourself to her Christmas music this holiday season. For more posts about Gewanda and her book, click HERE .

  MSI Press author, Gewanda Parker ( It Only Hurts When I Can't Run ) recently posted a very helpful and interesting video, " What Do You Want? " on Linked-In.  For more posts about Gewanda and her book, click HERE .

Gewanda is the founder and CEO of Hope and Healing Corporation, serving the needs of the marginalized of society locally and abroad to orphanages in Haiti and Africa. In 2003, she started an organization to help young girls and teens suffering with self-esteem and identity issues. Gewanda is a featured concert soloist, and her natural talent in music and  praise and worship has offered her the opportunity to minister and travel singing throughout the US, Canada and Bahamas. Levitical Praise was birthed out of these true authentic worship experiences. Johnson holds a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. Gewanda has worked with multiple multicultural and diversity assemblage of both professionals and laity groups in various settings. Most notable, in 2003, she was asked to speak to the highly Militant Religious Divides between the Protestants and Catholics in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Gewanda hosted a weekly radio show called “Message of Hope,” which ...

People have been asking for -- IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I CAN'T RUN Gewanda Parker vividly describes  a tragic childhood, a triumphant emergence onto the adult stage, a promising future An empowering read for a challenging time, this book is nearly impossible to put down. Many, many favorable reviews, e.g., from MidWest Book Review: Critique: Impressively candid, exceptionally informative, and ultimately inspiring, "It Only Hurts When I Can't Run: One Girl's Story" is a compelling read from beginning to end. Very highly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as community and academic library American Biography collections. Find more reviews HERE . The beautiful cover was painted by the late beloved and vaunted Russian illustrator, Zhenya Yanovich. who has also illustrated other MSI Press books. Gewanda Parker today is a pastor at a church in Florida.  And now, here is a short exceprt: He said...