Contact:
Robin Geelhoed, (616) 698-3345 [P], robin.geelhoed@zondervan.com
Military wife retraces steps through living a year in the Middle East during the Iraq War
Grand Rapids, Mich., July 27, 2009 – Debut author Leeana Tankersley constructs a literary collage of memories and mementoes from living in Middle East during the Iraq War in her travel memoir, Found Art: Discovering Beauty in Foreign Places (Nov. 2009). She reflects on discovering beauty in a foreign land by weaving together her experiences living in the Persian Gulf for a year.
After marrying a Navy SEAL, Tankersley moved over 8,000 miles away from her home in San Diego to Bahrain where her husband was stationed. She retraces her steps through the Middle East, and she recalls the subtle changes in herself that left her utterly transformed. Somewhere between bartering in a souq, a Middle Eastern market, and wearing a borrowed abaya, an Islamic overgarment, while touring the Grand Mosque, Tankersley found an unexpected beauty in the unknown that sunk beneath her skin and transformed her.
Found Art is an insightful collection of stories that Tankersley crafts into a literary piece of artwork. With an artist’s eye she combines bits of memories and trinkets – a handwritten note from Kuwait, a braid of fringe from a Persian rug, a Navy SEAL Trident – to create her own piece of Found Art. She celebrates what most would overlook – a receipt from the Russian-Georgian restaurant on Louisiana Street, a bit of basting thread – to piece together a work of unexpected beauty.
“Writing, for me, is often about two things,” says Tankersley, “creative processing and authentic giving. The book has been my way of working through, and then salvaging, the bits and pieces of Bahrain. In that sense, I wrote it for myself, so that I would never forget. Also, I wrote the book for those who are feeling lost, as I have felt so often. Ideally it offers the honest gifts of permission and validation and hope and beauty.”
Perfect for book clubs or small groups, Tankersley includes discussion prompts broken down by chapter for personal or group reflection. Tankersley invites readers into her deepest insecurities and her greatest joys of living in a foreign place. Her writing encourages readers to discover the beauty of the foreign places in their own lives – whether it be a year abroad or entering a new season of life.
About Leeana Tankersley
A native of San Diego, Leeana Tankersley received her B.S. in English from Liberty University and her M.A. in English from West Virginia University. After marrying her husband, Steve, Leeana lived in the Middle East during the Iraq war and returned to San Diego to work at Flood Church. She and Steve now live in Coronado, California.
About Found Art
Found Art: Discovering Beauty in Foreign Places
By Leeana Tankersley
Zondervan
9780310291336
224 Pages
$16.99
Hardcover, printed
PUB DATE: November 2009
Zondervan, a
HarperCollins company, is a world leader in Christian communications and the leading Christian publishing brand. For more than 75 years, Zondervan has delivered transformational Christian experiences through general and academic resources by influential leaders and emerging voices, and been honored with more Christian Book Awards than any other publisher. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with offices in San Diego and Miami, Zondervan conducts events and publishes its bestselling
Bibles,
books,
audio,
video,
curriculum,
software, and
digital products through its
Zondervan,
eZondervan,
Zonderkidz,
Youth Specialties,
Editorial Vida, and
National Pastors Convention brands. Zondervan resources are sold worldwide through retail stores, online, and by
Zondervan ChurchSource, and are translated into nearly 200 languages in more than 60 countries. Visit Zondervan on the Internet at
www.zondervan.com (mobile site:
zvan.mobi).
