Be Still
Memoirs of a Motherless Daughter
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Looking Back
It was Tuesday, September 5, 1967. I remember the day well because it was my first day of sixth grade. School starts in August now, but back then, school started after Labor Day. I was excited for the first day of school because I had new clothes, I had new shoes, my long brown hair was curled, and I wanted to see what cute boys were in my class. Oh, and it was the first year I got to wear a bra. This was going to be a great year! Oh boy, I was growing up. I remember this day was a beautiful fall day.
The bell rang. The first day of school was over, and I was excited about my friends who were in my class. I hurried home at the end of the day to share the excitement with my mother. I loved my mom very much—so much that when I would sleep with her, I would hold on tight to her pajamas so she could not leave my bed. Mom was not home when I got there. Shortly after my arrival home, we heard some sirens. My brothers, as they always did, jumped on their bikes and went to follow the sirens. We grew up in a small town, so chasing ambulances became a hobby. We even knew adults in our family who did it.
This time, the chase was different. The ambulance sound was near our home. When my brothers arrived at the scene, they saw the blue older-model car of our stepfather. There were police and first-aid workers all around his car. My stepfather had pulled in behind a local business just off a main road, shot my mother, and then turned the gun upon himself. My mother was alive in the ambulance but died shortly after her arrival at the hospital. He had shot her in the chest and head. She thought she was just going to pay a phone bill.
The years following this tragedy changed my life and how this motherless daughter would grow up and raise her children.
Looking On
My mother is a helicopter mom. From the day I got my driver’s license until today, and I’m sure all of the tomorrows ahead of us, she is intimately involved in the details of my life. Most people use the term helicopter to describe someone who is intrusive and too involved. I use that term lovingly because I now understand why she cares so much. I interpret her actions as care, not control. I talk to my mom almost every day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The words of my mother are ones that touch my heart. Not only does she show her reliance upon our Father and on Christ, but she tells of how that relationship was founded.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Tina West knows firsthand that if one struggles with negative experiences in life, there’s hope to be found in Christ. In 1967, at the beginning of her sixth-grade year, West’s stepfather shot her mother to death. Be Still shares West’s story and how she relied on Christ through it all to change her family tree forever.
In Be Still, a memoir by Tina West and her daughter Lyndie Metz, West offers her sincere reflections on growing up motherless and the role her faith played during these difficult times. Metz discusses the effects these experiences had on her as a daughter and how she’s looked to her mother as an example in how God uses each of us to bring hope, encouragement, and love into the lives of others.
Sharing motherhood from both sides, this open and honest memoir and spiritual guidebook communicates there is hope for those suffering from the ups and downs of life.
Tina West has endured unspeakable tragedy, yet not only speaks of it, but unpacks how through it all, she remains anchored and comforted by Jesus. Her compelling memoir is more than a story, but a mission to help others not only survive, but thrive. Her daughter, Lyndie Metz, details how her mother’s unwavering faith impacts her own life. Grab a comfortable seat.
You’re unlikely to put this book down.
—Donna Cronk, Author of women’s Christian fiction
About the Author
Tina West has worked as a newspaper publisher for twelve years, with forty years in the journalism industry. She’s spoken at women’s events, conferences and churches for the past twenty years. West lives in Pendleton, Indiana.
Lyndie Metz has been a public educator for fifteen years. She’s inspired women in church small groups and on mission teams for the past twelve years. Metz lives with her husband and three children in Pendleton, Indiana.