Today I’m excited to have author Ashley Al Saliby on the blog. Ashley recently released her first novel, My Refuge, which follows four teenage girls from around the world. Their lives are vastly different, but they each find hope in God’s promises. Welcome, Ashley!
LB: Tell us about some of the places you’ve lived and how these experiences have shaped who you are today.
AaS: When I was twenty-nine, I was sent by the church where I was serving on staff to live in northern Lebanon and serve alongside our ministry partners there. I got to teach English to Syrian refugee girls and women. Although it was just for a few months, it was a life-changing privilege for me to know and serve those women and girls, and to serve alongside and learn from my Lebanese brothers and sisters in Christ. I also started dating my husband during that time, and we lived in Beirut for three years after our wedding. In the beautiful homes of Lebanese family and friends, as well as in the difficult conditions of Syrian refugee dwellings – both Christians and Muslims – I was given the most beautiful picture of hospitality I have ever witnessed.
Because of my husband’s work and calling, we have spent the last five years in Geneva, Switzerland. Life in both of those countries have shaped me, actually, through the challenges of culture shock, language learning, and being far from home. (Adjusting to life in Europe was actually harder for me, in some ways, than it was to adjust to life in the Middle East!) Those circumstances not only forced me to trust Jesus in new ways and be shaped into His image through new challenges, but they humbled me in healthy ways and cultivated greater compassion in me for others who feel like outsiders. But also – my goodness! – my eyes were opened to the beauty of Jesus’ Church! Wherever I have gone, the Body of Christ has been my home.
LB: Wow, it sounds like living in these different cultures has provided huge opportunities for growth (and courage!). Why was it important to you to write a Christian novel for teenage girls?
AaS: Being a teenage girl is a wonderful, complicated, confusing thing, and this generation of girls is facing some unprecedented challenges. My heart is to disciple and mentor teenage girls to trust and obey Jesus, and that has typically looked like studying Scripture with them, praying with them, serving alongside them, and spending lots of life-on-life time with them (especially before I had small children). But as the idea for this book came to me, I became convinced that a story could be the vehicle for truth that might serve some girls of this generation well – that it could be an additional tool for their moms and mentors to use as they walk with them. I hope that will be the case, by God’s grace.
LB: Yes! I think My Refuge will have a positive impact on readers, and it’s one I’ll share with my daughters when they’re older. What is the main message you hope readers take away from your book?
AaS: Primarily, my goal and prayer has been that girls would read My Refuge and be struck by the trustworthiness of Jesus in the midst of our darkest days. I would also be delighted if readers gain a greater appreciation for the beauty of the worldwide, multi-cultural, multi-lingual Church of Jesus. The more I have been exposed to groups of believers worshiping Him and praying in other dialects, reading the God-breathed words of the Bible in a language that sounds foreign to me but which is the language of their hearts, and following Him faithfully in other cultural contexts, the more in awe of Jesus I have become. He is trusted and followed by people very different from us, in circumstances quite different than ours, and that reality can impact our own relationship with Him in a really valuable way!
LB: Mmm, yes, we really need to trust the only One who is trustworthy. I’m noticing that a common thread among worldwide travelers is that they love meeting brethren of different cultures and languages. You described it very eloquently 🙂 Okay, next question: What do you believe is the role of fiction, and how can reading fiction benefit Christians?
AaS: God has given us the good gift of beauty and art and creativity. He didn’t have to! So, in that sense, a good and moving story can be such a gracious gift of God for us to enjoy. But I also think a story can be a disarming, effective, memorable vehicle for truth. Sometimes we need to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it looks like to apply Scripture to the complexities of our lives, and fiction provides the perfect opportunity for that.
LB: Well said. Do you have a favorite Bible verse you’d like to share with readers?
AaS: It’s really tough to choose one, but I think I’d like to point you to the passage that was so precious and impactful to me when I was a young teenager, the same age as the girls I had in mind when I wrote My Refuge. My youth pastor pointed me to Psalm 63 in a discipleship group for the student worship band, and ever since then it has been a profound way to gauge the health of my heart before God. Even now, the words flow from memory (although probably as a compilation of several translations!): “Oh God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory. Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live…”
LB: That’s beautiful. It’s amazing when a verse or passage is imprinted in our minds and carries us through a season of life. Are you currently working on any writing projects?
AaS: Yes, I’m just getting started on the sequel to My Refuge! I can’t wait to give readers the continuing stories of Eden, Zahra, Mei and Katya.
LB: Great! Keep us posted on its progress and release! Where can readers find you?
AaS: I would love to connect with readers on Instagram (@ashleyalsalibywrites) and through my email newsletter, which they can sign up for at www.ashleyalsaliby.com. I will only be sending out a newsletter a few times a year, but I have some exciting ideas that will be communicated through the newsletter, including ways that readers can get involved to serve and support others in their generation!
LB: A less frequent and more meaningful newsletter? Sounds worthwhile to me! Thank you so much for joining me on my blog today. It’s been wonderful getting to know you 🙂
Ashley Al Saliby grew up in Texas and spent five years in full time student ministry before moving to Lebanon, meeting her husband, and starting a family. Still far from home in Geneva, Switzerland, Ashley draws from her backgrounds in Biblical Counseling and Middle East and North Africa Studies as she writes to serve teenage girls who are learning to follow Jesus in a broken world.
Toronto. Syria. Ukraine. Texas.
Four girls face the hardships of isolation in remote corners of the planet. Their journeys will be messy, of course. One of them will struggle with growing anger, and another with crippling anxiety. One will drift toward despair. Another will battle surprising temptation. While facing challenges they wouldn’t have chosen, what refuge can they seek? What hope can they cling to?
Not always at their best but also never abandoned, read along as Eden, Zahra, Mei and Katya discover that they are pursued and deeply loved by God.
Readers, I recommend My Refuge for middle-grade and YA readers of Christian fiction who want inspiring and realistic characters. It would be a great choice for a book club or youth group. Add it to your Want to Read list on GoodReads.
M Liz Boyle 