A REFLECTION ON A WRITER'S JOURNEY BY JUSTIN WIGGINS

Justin Wiggins was born in 1989 in a very small town in Eastern, North Carolina. Growing up, he struggled with depression, father abandonment issues, didn’t know what he was going to do with his life, struggled with philosophical confusion, and didn’t know how to articulate the questions that he had.

While in community college, he discovered a great passion for music, literature, and art through the musician Jon Foreman and the Irish writer C. S. Lewis. Justin came to embrace faith in Christ as a virtue rather than a delusion. The rock musician and Irish writer helped Justin find his voice as a writer, appreciate and understand people of different worldviews, and led him to many other different writers.

He came to finally understand why art is important to hour human tribe, and he understood why he believed what he believed.

After community college, Justin attended East Carolina University, and there he went through a dark night of the soul related to father abandonment struggles which lasted for quite a while. That time in his life was filled with failed relationships, friendships which dissolved, many questions, tiring but necessary counseling sessions, guilt, a bizarre sleeping pattern, dark days of depression, and a horrific sense of foreboding that he was not going to make it.

Wonder of wonders, he did though! It was his zeal for life, community, writing, literature, and art which helped him through that dark time, and his faith was renewed, as well as his zeal for writing, life, community, and art. To him, it felt like a resurrection of sorts. He likens it to when Frodo Baggins in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is stabbed by one of the malicious Ringwraiths and is healed by the skill and Elvish magic of the great Elrond.

For years Justin enjoyed doing barista work, connecting with all kinds of different people, found a great love for coffee, tea, and eventually moved to the mountains of North Carolina where he attended Montreat College. During this time, Justin met many kindred spirits who spoke his language through pubs, coffee shops, church, bookstores, friends, college, and different writer groups on Facebook.

He connected with Mr. Grant Hudson of Clarendon House Publications, and Grant made a dream of his become a reality when he published Justin’s first book, "Surprised by Agape." Justin is very thankful for all of the book reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, the book signing he was able to do at a Barnes and Noble in Asheville, North Carolina, and glad that people have been able to resonate with his book, as well as other pieces that he has written.

Justin is excited about having two pieces published this year called “Ode to Books” and “Surprised by Myth & Ink.” Justin just recently finished recording an audio book for Surprised by Agape, and is currently working on a novel, and other fiction and poetry. He is very thankful for his artistic community, and all the good sacramental things in his life. His writer page can be found here: https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/justin-wiggins

Author bio:

Justin Wiggins is a local writer that works and lives in the primitive, majestic, beautiful mountains of North Carolina. He graduated with his bachelors in English Literature from Montreat College with a focus on C. S. Lewis studies in May of 2018. His first book was “Surprised by Agape,” published by Grant Hudson of Clarendon House Publications. He has also had a poem, and other short pieces published by Clarendon House Publications, the C. S. Lewis Sehnshuct Journal, and by SweetyCat Press. Justin has a great zeal for life, work, community, writing, literature, art, pubs, bookstores, and coffee shops.