Jeff Short chats to author, Niki Hardy, about her open and honest book coming out in the UK in September. A book about how to break free from the suffocating survival mode, find abundant life, and discovering you were born to thrive and not just survive.

On the one hand I trust but on the other I don't. What does that look like and how do we move forward with that? I share stories of one woman who lost her husband when she was 8 months pregnant with her second child; one woman who was raped; a triple amputee; a guy who lives with chronic pain. It's not just about cancer.

Jeff: Sometimes in church you get a handful of texts thrown at you and told just hang on to that one brother, sister and everything's going to be fine. I've lived through 'All things work together for good' and claimed that as a promise and seen it work out in dire circumstances. But it isn't as easy as that, is it?

Niki: No, it's not. And to throw those around willy nilly is, I don't want to say heartless, that's a bit strong, but I think we say those things when we don't know what else to say. I think acknowledging that a situation is hard, that people are afraid, being able to sit in the mess with them as well as offering hope. I think we feel we need to have an answer, and to fix things but we don't.

Jeff: One of the excerpts I read, people would be able to identify with. You spoke about your sister Jo when she was dying and your Dad said he wished more than anything he could take it from her or even change places with her. And that's exactly what God did, took our place on the cross. If that love is in you, you say about your Dad as imperfect as he is whatever love he's got we can magnify it, multiply it for God's love.

Niki: That's right. My Dad would have done that for both of us and how much more has God done it already. We can think he's mad at us but he's really not.

Jeff: You use some very obscure theological terms like 'menopausal rhino'. Was it John Wesley who wrote that?

Niki: Well, I'd say I'm not a literary writer; I'm a very chatty writer. I wanted the reader to feel like I was sitting down over a cup of tea and we were talking this through together. I want the book to be a workbook. There are questions in it and prayers that people can make their own. I wanted people to feel I was walking this journey with them and not talking at them. That's the way I speak with these weird and wonderful phrases.

Jeff: I did feel as though I was having a chat with you, even though you were doing most of the talking. I did talk back a couple of times, much to the amazement of my two dogs. I did find you can work through it and there are prayers in it and it's real. I like the birds coming and eating your food when you're having that chill out time, likening the Holy Spirit to a hawk that chases those away. It's very readable. And it comes out in September in the UK?

Niki: Yes, but you can order it now on Amazon. My publisher tells me this is not just radio it's the whole publishing world, I'm not a seasoned writer so they've told me pre-ordering a book is one of the best ways you can love a writer and it will arrive on your doorstep the day that it comes out. So people can go to Amazon or their local bookshop and order it. But there are resources, tips and encouragement on my website. There's a talk they can download; there's a little e book how to hear God's voice; a printable about how life doesn't have to be pain-free to be full.

The website is nikihardy.com and they can find all sorts of things to help them on their journey until the book comes out.

Jeff: Niki, thank you for your time. I'm going to recommend this to many friends because in my humble opinion it does what you set out to do which is not to talk at people but to give them encouragement to work their way through this. It's given us an insight into your life and your journey but it's something we can all find strength from. I hope it does fabulously well because that will mean a lot of people will get a lot of strength from it.

Niki: That's my hope.