Light in Our Darkness - Softcover

Lisa Kratz Thomas, was born into a Catholic family and raised in a Maryland suburb of our nation s capital. Compelled by a hunger for love, a thirst for freedom and carrying the shame of abortion, she spiraled into the dark world of drug addiction. Later she became a prostitute and homeless drug addict on the streets of Washington, DC. Lisa saw the light and overcame her guilt, shame, and remorse. She founded a non-profit organization to provide hope and resources to disenfranchised women who were reentering society from incarceration. She went from the crack house to the state house, serving on a Senate Sub-Committee that studied prisoner reentry in the state of Virginia. As a former offender, Lisa is now a reentry advocate and currently visits close to twenty different prisons annually, sharing hope with both men and women. Not only has she mentored countless women inside the rooms of recovery; she is also an advisor and confidant to elected officials, their wives, and to clergy.

Kathy Gray was raised in academia in a Protestant ministry home. Reeling from the effects of sexual abuse and the murder of her brother she eventually plummeted into mental instability and found herself groping her way through a nervous breakdown. Emerging from the fog of comparison and perfectionism, Kathy came to value life, all life, even her own. She transformed from a non-functioning, panic-stricken young mother to confidently raising four sons, weathering the storms of teenage rebellion and drug and alcohol abuse. Kathy is now helping others get free of enslaving mindsets. She has mentored numerous women both inside and outside the rooms of Twelve Step recovery. She shares her story of failure and transformation at conferences and retreats, or one on one at the local coffee shop. An accomplished musician she now invests in the musical development of multiple students.

You can t hold auditions for friendship. When people remain friends through the ups and downs in life it creates a bond that is not easily broken. Lisa and Kathy are as different as night and day but both are overcomers and have the same passion to see hurting people set free! Who would have predicted that two formerly suicidal, mentally unstable, hopeless women would share how to use their adversity as an advantage?

For over 20 years Lisa and Kathy have collaborated to empower others to embrace their unique purpose and identity. For two years they co-hosted This Is Your Life: Courage to Change, a weekly radio show with a wide variety of guests who used courage to overcome adversity. They could have never anticipated how being introduced to one of the least-known yet most influential people of the 20th century would change their lives forever - Dr. Bernard Nathanson, the abortion king, a man responsible for 75,000 deaths.

Their new book, Light in Our Darkness, chronicles how their lives were woven together with his over the span of 40 years. Each was deceived by the sinister misconception - the delusion that some lives are thought of as throwaways while others are considered indispensable. It was an intricate journey from deception to the revelation to see the value of life from a whole new perspective.

Lisa and Kathy now travel across the country sharing their experience, strength and hope as they tell their story of transformation with audiences from all walks of life.

Light in Our Darkness weaves the true stories of three incredibly different people into one compelling account of what happens when good intentions go dangerously awry. Lisa and Kelly reveal how you and I can help others discover light in the midst of their darkness. ---David Bereit, CEO of 40 Days for Life

We live in an age where human beings are viewed with varying degrees of value. We celebrate some people, disregard others, and destroy ones we deem worthless. Yet every single human being, regardless of subjective circumstances, possesses unlimited potential and priceless value. Light in Our Darkness is a powerful, poignant reminder that each and every one of us is a wonderful, marvelous image bearer, created with purpose and a plan. Read, contemplate, and celebrate life! --Brian Fisher, President of Human Coalitian

You will never think of the word "grace" in the same way. This gripping and revealing story will have you on the edge of your seat eager to see what happens yet not wanting the story to end. --Darryl and Tracey Strawberry, Strawberry Ministries