The story of our book continues to baffle and amaze me. Back in 2019, we learned that the second version of our book was no longer in print. B&H Publishing never let us know and I was trying to order copies for a seminar. That day, I realized our two books had an amazing run since the first book, “Conquering Depression” came out in February 2001. I spoke with Mark and concluded that maybe it was time to put the book to rest. An hour after our conversation, I checked my email and got this:

“Thank you for changing my life and for the tools provided to continue life. I was very close to giving up, your book made [me] change my mind and fight the darkness, with God's help, forever. Thank you, thank you, thank you L*****e M****s, South Africa

May 17, 2019 5:34 AM”

South Africa! Somehow our book had made it into the hands of someone in South Africa. And, according to them, it “saved my life”! I immediately sent the email on to Mark Sutton and called him up. The result of that conversation was to proceed with a third edition of the book with about 40% new content published by our little independent publishing company.

Fast forward to February, 2020. We had completed our first “Conquering Depression Seminar” in Daytona Beach, Florida featuring the latest edition of our book. Then, COVID hit! Our plans to publicize the third edition faded in the face of a pandemic. With Mark’s health issues, we could not take a chance on exposure to the virus.

July, 2022 came around and out third book was doing okay. Once again, I was considering pulling the book from our website. We had a good run. 21 years! I sent an email to Mark. Before he could answer, a new email popped up. It was from a psychiatrist in Monroe, Louisiana. He told the story of a patient who was having difficulty controlling depression. This patient appeared for an appointment one day and was doing so well, the psychiatrist was convinced his medications were working. Until she held up a book and said the book had “changed her life”. Yes, it was OUR book! Intrigued by the book, he reached out to me and requested I participate in an interview on his weekly radio show.

Once again, I had tried to bury the book but God kept opening doors! We faced tremendous challenges getting the first interview done. I finally gave the interview in October, 2022. They reached out to me again and we did a second interview in December, 2022.

And then, they asked me to speak at a conference in May for counselors, therapists, psychologists, and social workers throughout North Louisiana. If you would like to hear the interviews, below are the links to the media page with the two interviews.

https://www.hopeagainbooks.com/media

Now, we are once again promoting our book and watching as it continues to help people. As long as it has a positive effect on anyone suffering from depression, we will keep it available.