Letters to God: Diary of an Unsilenced Generation

Letters to God is a unique manuscript. Its pages are filled with a conversational flow, guiding the reader through hundreds of handwritten notes, and what to do if emotion or identification is stirred up in the reader. This walk through includes chapter summaries in order to best describe each feature of the manuscript.

Intro: How it all began
Due to the nature of the book and the fact a reader will not be familiar with a unique design, a "how it all started" section is included as introduction. It starts with the author's journey and her heart for a generation as she routinely watched young people stream arena aisles for altar calls as she toured nationally with Christian conferences. The introduction goes on to explain how letters were written, gathered, and what importance they have. It targets the fact that letters were crying for help, and that this manuscript promises to provide that first step of help with "God Speaks Back" intermittent sections and numerous resource segments at the end of the manuscript.

Part 1: Letter Sections
Voice of A Generation:
An overview of some of the most meaningful letters, this section is an "author's pick" so to speak. These letters represent the wide range of cries uttered by a broken generation, seeking God's help. They range from simple and innocent, to raw and desperate.

We Wrestle:
Upon reading thousands of letters, a sharp awareness became evident. The youth of America struggle in four primary areas: anger, doubt, feeling worthless and addition. These letters were included to spur on an atmosphere of not only awareness, but openness. When teens know they are not alone, they gather a hidden courage to wrestle against what holds them back.

Guys, Girls, & the Brokenness Between
This chapter takes time to admit gender specific issues. The letters are clearly slanted from the perspective of each gender. This section provides a "Guys only" and "Girls only" focus with not only altar call letters, but also Authors word of encouragement, and Scripture portions of guidance most suitable to each gender.

Broken Relationships
Echoed in large portions of letters, is a disappointment and hurt from a failed relationship. Young people find acceptance and worth from the opposite sex. These letters touch on confessions of anger, shock, and hurt from break-ups. This chapter allows reader identification on feeling broken from a relationship that didn't end the way they had hoped.

Hitting Home
Many teens come from broken home environments. This truth is echoed in this sections letters. Teens admit their confusions from living inside of a family life which is not nurturing.

Parents' Letters to God
As letters were gathered across the nation, the author was surprised to find that it wasn't only teens who were writing to God for help--parents were too. This short section includes a few of the most meaningful letters that parents wrote, expressing their need for God's help too. It is intended to offer a refreshing shift in perspective to teen readers, raising their awareness that they aren't the only ones asking for God's help.

Harder Stuff
This section includes some of the hardest to read letters. Admissions of abortion, rape, abuse, dealing with death, and struggling with unspoken issues line these pages. They are included not for sense of sensationalism, but for honesty and to raise awareness that readers are not alone in their unspoken struggles. Intro pages guide a reader through this concept and explain why such raw confessions were included.

Project Restored
This final section of letters is meant to leave readers on a positive note. It includes letters of thanks, praise, and hope for what is to come. Many of the letters focus on searching for meaning and wanting to make a difference in this world. Section ends with Scriptures of promise, restoration, and hope.


Part 2: Where to go from here

What do you do after reading hundreds of exposed confessions from a generation? How do you put a book down and just move on from that? The author was aware that raised emotions and identification is very possible for readers. With this in mind, a "What to do" section was added as conclusion to the manuscript.

What to do if you...
This section is intended to provide the reader with immediate action plans based on if they are hurting, if they know someone who is hurting, if they are a concerned adult, or if they simply want to get to know God better. Each segment provides a reader with practical, how to guidance for what to do as soon as they put the book down.

Resources:
Two separate resource guides are included. The first is a Crisis Resource guide, with each page tackling individual issues young people face. Topics include: dealing with crisis, physical and sexual abuse, cutting, suicide, pornography and sexual addition, drug and alcohol use, grief and mourning, same-sex attraction and homosexuality, unplanned pregnancy, post-abortion trauma, eating disorders, and dealing with parents' divorce. Each topic was included based on number of times issue came up throughout letters.
The second resource guide is directional--providing coaching and encouragement to grow character. Topics include: How to know God, Starting your journey, Deeper foundations, Becoming a leader, Becoming a man of God, Becoming a woman of God, and Mentoring. Extras in the section include a youth leadership resource page and "Heart to Heart Opportunities", which list nationally recognized short mission trip organizations, internships, and books which spur on a heart for the world.

Cassandra Smith has worked extensively with youth for twelve years. Her commitment to mentoring, discipleship, and promoting stories of restoration has been discovered and nurtured through several avenues. Her diversity of experience ranges from youth leading at her local church, to touring with Acquire the Fire, years of work with Youth with a Mission, and a commitment to the local church.

Cassandra is an honors graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She also graduated YWAM's University of the Nation's writing school. She currently serves as a youth leader in her local church. Prior to that she Road Managed the production crew and ministry team for Acquire the Fire. Through creating intern development curriculum, speaking at events and churches, and the care of that team, plus her heart for conference attendees--a deepening awareness of the needs of youth culture was born.