Born from her battles with anxiety and chronic illness, Katy Hollamby’s storybook for 7–11-year-olds creates safe spaces for children and adults to talk about fear, hope, and the ever-present kindness of Jesus
Katy Hollamby has written a novel that opens doors of conversation about fear and anxiety. Written for 7–11-year-olds, her book gives children “a way to hold onto the idea of Jesus”, awakening their imaginations to his kindness and a sense of his safety. This story arises from her own suffering with fear and chronic illness, along with journeying with her daughter in struggles with anxiety. The Tremblers and Trailmaker, have provided a new way to encounter Jesus, search for light and give opportunity for conversation.
a wonderful opportunity for children and adults to talk about fear and hope, darkness and light
It has been a longtime since I have picked up and a book and really struggled to put it down, waiting eagerly for the next moment that I could curl up and read. Katy Hollamby has created a masterpiece that radiates the love and light of Christ through every chapter. The Place of Endless lights provides a wonderful opportunity for children and adults to talk about fear and hope, darkness and light.
The world of the Tremblers is a world that we can so easily fit into because we all feel fear. No one is immune, and although we all fear different things, fear creeps up on us all. It creeps around and lurks in the shadows, it feeds off doubts and worries, it deceives. Fear can be consuming; it can weigh us down until all we want to do is sleep.
you feel like you are running with them, caught up with in the fear that is rising up all around them
This book is a God-story. It came out one of the darkest periods in Katy’s life when she was really poorly with chronic fatigue. In conversation, Katy shared how she, like so many, had been in the darkest of places, where she came face to face with her deepest fears. It was here that fear made her feel like she had been reduced to nothing. She felt worthless and alone. Wrestling, not just with the fear of suffering, but fearing being alone in it, and that somehow it was her fault. That dark place also brought forth fears about who God is with questions over his goodness and kindness.
Katy’s God-story is the miracle of Jesus’ presence. There was no miraculous instant healing, it was “the miracle of Jesus just being there with me”. We have all questioned God in the face of suffering, but we all have hope because we are never alone in our suffering. Jesus sits there with us. Gentle, safe and kind.
Katy has created an enchanting world that makes you look within yourself at your fears
From the moment Katy encountered Jesus just being with her in the darkness, she began to search each day for the pinpricks of light, that all trailed back to him. The smallest encounters of the goodness of God found in brief moments of connection with her children or watching the squirrel in the garden. God changed the way Katy saw and experienced fear, he gave her a song to sing and light to search for.
God never intended his creation to be plagued with suffering, and one day there will be no more tears (Revelation 21:4). But until that time comes God calls us to respond to fear, with truth and light. He can take anything and light it up from the inside, he is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
This won’t be just another book on the self, it will be a light gleaming from the bookcase
In the novel, from the moment Aria and her brother start running across the rooftops of Trembleton you feel like you are running with them, caught up with in the fear that is rising up all around them. Fear is a dangerous antagonist; it fills so many of the pages in this book and yet it is not at all consuming! There is always hope and light.
Katy has created an enchanting world that makes you look within yourself at your fears, not to create fear within you, but show you how to bring your fear into the light. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
This book holds so many truths that we want our children to know
Another layer to Katy’s God-story is found in the darkness of anxiety that tried to hold her daughter. So many children are weighed down by anxiety and fear, and often it isn’t until they are in crisis that we seem to be able to have conversations with them. Through asking questions about how we talk to our children about fear and anxiety. Katy has found a way to open doors of conversation using literature.
This book holds so many truths that we want our children to know, and for us as adults to believe in. Here are just a few:
- You are never alone: Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear for I am with you”
- You are loved: Jeremiah 31:3 “I have loved you with an ever-lasting love”
- You are safe: Psalm 3:4-6 “I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep, yet I wake up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. I will not fear though ten thousand enemies surround me on every side”.
- There is always hope: Psalm 71:14 “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.
- There is always light: John 1:5 “Light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never overcome it”
- Fear has not power over you. Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”
Like CS Lewis before her, who shaped our childhood image of Jesus with the Lion Aslan, the Trailmaker, gives children “a way to hold onto the idea of Jesus”, awakening their imaginations to his kindness, a sense of his safety and “withness”. This is a story that doesn’t shy away from darkness but bring Jesus into it.
Read more:
Abigail and the Waterfall: A beautiful way for Christian parents to encourage their children to care for God’s creation
Green Ember: The book series for youth and children that rivals Narnia
So whatever fear that you and your children face, there is always a way to overcome it, but it starts with stopping running away and turning to face your fear. This is a story of Jesus’ invitation to be held and sing out to him, and he will help you speak/sing truth over your fear and run to him and the place of endless lights.
Katy wants this book “to plants seed in children so that they can carry Jesus, and a sense of safety and light with them for the rest of their lives”, “Children’s fiction shapes the way you see the world, and it’s something you can carry into adulthood” “Wouldn’t it be amazing for children who don’t have many books to be given a book, and that book to be about Jesus”. This won’t be just another book on the self, it will be a light gleaming from the bookcase.
Audiobook and kindle versions are also available.
