#IMUST looks like an immensely helpful book. Can you tell us a little about it?
#IMUST is a book
about how to get through grief or loss. The reason why I made it 40 days is
because 40 is a number correlated with a wilderness experience. I feel that
getting through the pain of grief, is very similar to going through a
“wilderness experience” or a period that is not clear in our lives that is
associated with great struggle. People
tend to only associate loss to a death of a loved one, but I would like to
define loss as the death of an expectation. Loss is when you expect something
to happen, and that expectation dies. Grief is a side-effect of a loss. I think
many do not think their losses are valid because it might not be a death. In
the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a loss could be a loss of freedom,
celebration (graduations, weddings), or the loss of a job. All of these can
cause grief. One thing I’ve always had pause with is how little we talk about
dealing and managing grief in Christian forums. The goal of this book, is to
help people get through the different stages of grief and loss through using
the Word of God.
How long did it take you to write #IMUST?
I started to write this book in January 28th,
2020. The reason why that date is important is I had a deep personal loss on
that day of my own. I also went through another loss very soon after that. When
dealing with my own broken-ness, I had to find a way to manage. This book is
literally the ways in which I encouraged myself through my own loss. I wanted
to be able to share those words with others. I took me about 2 months to get
eventhing completed, and literally the day I finished writing was the day we
were all locked into isolation for COVID-19. I didn’t write the book specifically
for the pandemic, but I know with all that has happened in the world, it can help
people who are going through things in the pandemic.
What will readers get out of your book?
Encouragement and
understanding. I feel that there are places in the Bible that make our feelingS
during times of grief very relatable. It’s encouraging to know that when we are
going through these things, God does understand what we are going through. Also,
to have the understanding through God’s word of how to manage it is important
as well.
Did anything stick out as particularly challenging when
writing #IMUST?
There were so many moving pieces and with everything being
closed, it was difficult to just get all the moving pieces together! Not only
this, but being in isolation is very difficult and mentally draining. It can be
easy to just want to sleep all day instead of realLy working on pumping a book
out. It’s really challenging to keep yourself motivate when you are by
yourself. If anything I’ve learned the power of self-motivation and just sticking
to a goal no matter what.
What do you like to do when not writing?
I actually love to listen to books. I also love to cook! I
feel like cooking teaches us a lot about life metaphorically, and it’s very
calming.
Where can readers find out more about your work?
They can visit my
website at www.iwillenspire.org
and also my Instagram page at @chidi_bang as well as my twitter @chidiwosu