By Kaitlin Candelaria
Emily McElhaney has always loved to write. At 78 years old, she has now published her first book of poetry and is donating the proceeds to a local ministry.
“I wrote my first long poem when I was in high school,” she said. “I always had a burning desire to write, but it was always poetry. The older I got, the more I matured spiritually in the Lord and the more I wrote poetry. I kind of feel like I was just the scribe writing down what the Lord gave me.”
McElhaney said she never imagined she would publish her own book, but God had other plans.
“I’ve wanted to publish this book for years,” she said. “At first, I thought I wanted to just get the poems in printable form for my children, but something always happened and either I didn’t follow through or I ran into an obstacle.”
This past summer, McElhaney was approached by her friend Don Wilson, a retired history professor at Samford University. He connected her with the publishing department at Books-a-Million. The Brookwood location of the store has a publishing machine inside the store.
However, McElhaney, who describes herself as “computer illiterate,” thought she had run into another obstacle when she found out all of her poems would need to be put on a flash drive to use the machine.
“God always has perfect timing,” she said. “Would you believe a friend at church walked up to me the next Sunday morning and told me she wanted to help me publish my book?”
With the help of Zach Kendrick at Books-a-Million and her friends, McElhaney was able to publish “Miracles of God,” a book of poetry.
McElhaney and her husband moved to Hoover from Mobile 8 and a half years ago. McElhaney is a mother of three and suggested the move to be closer to her grandchildren. She said she and her husband have fallen in love with their community and the Birmingham area.
She and her husband are dedicated members of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church and enjoy traveling to spend time with her other children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
It was that love of family that inspired her to donate the proceeds from her book to the WellHouse Ministries. When she heard founder Tajuan McCarty’s story of escaping from sexual slavery, she said her heart was moved.
“Sexual trafficking knows no race, no educational background,” McElhaney said. “Some women are very educated and some get caught up in it as young girls. It could’ve been one of my daughters or granddaughters and I guess that’s the thing that captured my heart and made me want to get involved and to support the ministry.”
McElhaney said that, although she is excited about publishing her first book, her main priority is to glorify God.
“I just thank the Lord for the ability to write poetry,” she said.
To purchase a copy of “Miracles of God,” visit www.booksamillion.com. To learn more about the WellHouse, visit www.the-wellhouse.org.
