Found Art Party

During this stage of life we find ourselves each year celebrating fewer weddings and more babies. Last month we were privileged to celebrate in a birth of different sorts, the release of Leeana Tankersley's book, Found Art.



The book was released in November and is a memoir of the first year of Steve and Leeana's marriage which they spent in Bahrain as Steve was deployed with the Navy. It focuses on the tough lessons learned, the areas of her life (which we all have) that were exposed during that year, and the way in which God transformed her in that desert oasis.



Two separate thoughts stand out to me about Leeana's book. The first is the process Leeana went through to write it. I would often times see Leeana during the day as Steve and I were working together a lot during this time, and I can say the process she went through was grueling. The idea of writing a memoir is terrifying enough, yet to have an outside third party rip revisions to shreds and tell you to tell your life story differently... all I can say is she handled that experience better than I ever would. We often ask her which was worse, birthing the book or the twins... it is usually a toss up. Her perseverance, dedication, and commitment to the process is truly something that will always speak of Leeana's character.

Then her book was released, and I have to admit, as a friend it is a little unnerving opening your friend's work and being able to read the final print. Yet in true Leeana fashion, her blend of wit, self humor, introspection, and vulnerability are a delight to read and speaks of who she is. The conclusions she comes to about life, God, and our relationship with him are profound and applicable.



Kara and I both recommend purchasing a copy (yes, even a woman's memoir is a solid read for a guy), and the link for the book on Amazon is below. You can also check out her blog, Gypsy Ink (http://www.gypsyink.com/) where her latest post is about Kara, and always gets me choked up when I read it.

Lee, thanks for allowing us to celebrate the birth of your book with you! We love you!

EJ, KJ, and AJ

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=found+art+tankersley&x=0&y=0&sprefix=found+art+tan