“Whose Hands are God’s Hands: In the Midst of a Storm” is a children’s book centered around how a December tornado affected a fictional community, and a nonfiction section about the destruction of the 2021 December tornado.
Author Debbie Simpson had suffered her own traumatic event which changed her life and inspired her to write and illustrate children’s books. Before she began to write the book, Simpson made the decision to donate the profits of “Whose Hands are God’s Hands: In the Midst of a Storm” to the Bread of Life Foundation.
For Simpson, writing is a form of therapy where she can focus on others issues, hurts, and pains. When a friend was diagnosed with brain cancer around Christmas, she decided to make gifts for every family member. Simpson signed each book with a Christmas name and story.
After seeing the childrens’ joy, she found that reaching out to others in need gave her more inspiration to keep writing. Simpson now picks up her pen whenever she feels depressed to heal after her traumatic experience. She begins with writing her story, and then she draws the illustrations to bring the story to life. Her support system gave her the courage and confidence to continue writing.
“I’m glad to know that I’m able to take people on that journey, that they can hear the kindness and love in my words,” Simpson said.
To Simpson, God is using her hands and heart to help spread a message of hope and love. Simpson says she spent her life thinking that she couldn’t do anything other than being a stay at home mother and wife.
“I never gave myself credit for anything I could do, back then, I didn’t have people to encourage me. I’ve grown to realize that God gave me some talent and it’s time I used it for good,” Simpson said.
Simpson wrote the first part specifically for the kids.
She said, “We need to be truthful with them, but we need to soften our words to prepare them. They need to know, we always think it happens to someone else but it happened to us.”
The children’s story begins in the morning on December 10, 2021. The story is a look at the disaster to help children understand and be prepared for severe storms. In the book, the children are taught by example to prepare for the oncoming storm. The main character, Terrace, is constantly being confused by parents and church leaders about who has ‘God’s Hands’ in the book.
Simpson said, “God is teaching that we need to help one another. So God’s Hands are in everyone. Everyone that was willing to help. That’s the whole point, we all need to come together and use our hands to help.”
In the book Mr. Lee, the neighborhood leader, organizes a meeting for all families to attend including the children. Terrace’s parents explain that everyone will need to know what to do to prepare for severe weather.
Simpson hides small lessons throughout the book, like where the parents lead by example preparing the house for the storm. She includes safety vocabulary when the family chooses the Windowless Century Located Laundry Room to take shelter.
The first section of the book is based on true events, but the town, the people, and the main family are fictional. Simpson included an illustrated map where the tornado carved a path across several counties in Kentucky, not just in Graves County.
The first page of Part 2 has an illustration of the sun rising. Simpson includes a nonfiction section consisting of a fact sheet describing the devastation of Mayfield in December 2021. Part 2 includes quotes from local residents, community members, and traveling volunteers. The second part has a scrapbook section of photographs of the devastation taken by Steven Elder.
Simpson said, “It affected us all in one way or another, and we don’t ever want to forget those who have lost their lives. I dedicated the book to all those who have suffered at the hands of natural disasters, the first responders, and all the volunteers.”
She hopes that all the greatness and goodness the community received will inspire others to better their community, a better state, and better human beings.
To Simpson, this book is for the community, “We’re going to need help for a long time in Mayfield. It will never be the same, it can be something better in the future.”
A book signing for “Whose Hands are God’s Hands: In the Midst of a Storm” will take place at the Good News Shoppe on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
