These are the kind of stories that feel good. And good, that the Shroud had a role:
After 15 years of research, which led her back to the Episcopal church of her youth, Pamela Binnings Ewen presented her case in “Faith on Trial,” which puts the reader on the jury to judge the four Gospels as eyewitness testimony to Christ’s life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection.
A New Orleans native who lived for years in Houston, Ewen found that reaction to her manuscript was mixed. It was viewed as a controversial, intellectual approach to faith, she said. While her agent worked hard to secure a publishing contract, personal tragedy struck.
Ewen was diagnosed with cancer and faced the biggest battle of her life. The questions of life loomed even larger. She had worked hard to earn the gift of faith and now it was being tested. As she lay on the hospital bed, a priest visited. She suspected the worse. “I thought. 'Oh my God, I’m dying.'”
But the Episcopal priest delivered a publishing contract. “My agent landed the contract and wanted me to have it as soon as possible so she sent it to the hospital,” Ewen explained.
A cancer survivor now for eight years, her faith brings her a core of strength to help guide her through the tough times. She donates all the proceeds of “Faith on Trial” to her local church.
The book, published by Broadman & Holman, is in its third printing and was endorsed by Ewen’s former law partner, Secretary of State James A. Baker. The book gained nationwide press, was on several regional bestseller lists and chosen as a text for a course on law and religion at Yale.
After retiring in 2004, Ewen remarried her best friend of 40 years, James Lott, and moved to Mandeville to pursue a full time writing career.
Ewen’s new book, “Walk Back the Cat,'” had its roots in earlier research when she read about the mystery surrounding the Shroud of Turin that bears an image believed to be of Jesus. “No one has ever provided an explanation on how the image was created, so the Shroud of Turin provided a natural vehicle for the conflict and mystery in “Walk Back the Cat,” she said.
Ewen is now at work on her next novel, “The Moon in the Mango Tree,” a historical piece based upon her grandmother's life as a missionary in Siam in the 1920s.
She will be singing copies of “Walk Back the Cat” at 2727 Prytania St. on Saturday, May 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
For information about Ewen, her books, and upcoming speaking engagements, visit her website www.walkbackthecat.com.
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