Untethered: Faith, Failure, and Finding Solid Ground

(Paperback)

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Description

When Laura Whitfield was fourteen, her extraordinary brother, Lawrence, was killed in a mountain climbing accident. That night she had an epiphany: Life is short. Dream big, even if it means taking risks. So, after graduating from high school, she set out on her own, prepared to do just that.

Laura spent her first summer after high school on North Carolinas Outer Banks, a magical few months filled with friendships, boys, and beer. There she met a handsome DJ who everyone called Steve the Dream, and risked her heart. When September came, Steve moved to New York City to become a model prompting Laura to start thinking about modeling, too. After just one semester of college, still seeking to fill the void left by her brothers death, she dropped out and moved to New York to become a cover girl. But while juggling the demands of life in the big citywaiting tables, failed relationships, and the cutthroat world of modelingshe lost her way.

A stirring memoir about a young womans quest to find hope and stability after devastating loss, Untethered is Lauras story of overcoming shame, embracing faith, and learning that taking risksand failingcan lead to a bigger life than you've ever dared to imagine.

Reviews

2022 Readers Favorite Book Awards Finalist in Non-Fiction (Grief/Hardship)
2022 New York Book Festival Honorable Mention inBiography/Autobiography/Memoir
2022 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Nonfiction
Official 2022 December Book-of-the-Month Pick of the International Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club

. . . Whitfields narration is often engaging in its spirited expression of a resolute search for meaning. A candid and inspirational coming-of-age story.
Kirkus Reviews

The writing is engaging and welcomes the reader into the authors story and thoughts . . . telling a story that is unique to her yet in which readers will recognize the ebbs and flows of tragedy, challenges, and joy we all experience in life.
The BookLife Prize

Untetheredby Laura Whitfield was absolutely engrossing. Expertly written,Untetheredis a memoir written like a high-paced action thriller. The reader feels Lauras strugglesher hurts, her heart, and her humanity. . . . An unbelievable memoir that will stay with you long after the final page. Highly recommended.
Readers Favorite, 5-star review

When life falls apart, it's easy to assume you're alone in your suffering. Or worse, that you're stuck there. Untethered is a haunting exploration of life's disorienting darkness, punctuated by lightning strikes of hope. Laura forces readers to confront the vulnerability of being human while offering a rousing call to more abundant life. If you've ever felt blindsided by disappointment and disillusionment, Laura's journey of faith amid failure is not to be missed. Highly recommend!
Jonathan Merritt, contributing writer for The Atlantic and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch

Untethered is a breathtaking glimpse into the unraveling of a life after death. With winsome prose, Whitfield's poignant coming-of-age narrative takes the reader on a journey of what happens when we come undone. This is a timely memoir of loss, sex, beauty, family, and the courage it takes to regain our footing amid chaos.
J. Dana Trent, author of Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life

Untethered is an exciting journey of a dynamic womanand while it represents her life, there are so many moments of oh, I know that feeling that she could be writing about me and my life, only with different names! So many of us have gone through the journey of finding ourselves while thinking it takes a man to get there; Whitfields story shows us that we need ourselves to find ourselvesand along the way, we might also find love. A great read for women of all ages.
Jen Oleniczak Brown, founder of The Engaging Educator and author of Think On Your Feet

Whitfield's memoir is an engrossing coming-of-age tale. Marked by deep grief and aspiration, broken relationships and restoration, her story moves from a quiet beginning in North Carolina, to New York City and back again, all in pursuit of a defined sense of self. In her generous telling, Whitfield reminds us that humility, grace, and deep gratitude can yield the richest rewards, and that this life's greatest fulfillment comes in relationship with others.
Rebecca Brewster Stevenson, author of Healing Maddie Brees and Wait

With radiant honesty, Whitfield tells the story of losing her beloved brother, which set her on a quest to find emotional and spiritual sanctuary. We follow her wild years in the Outer Banks, New York City, and Chapel Hill, where she seeks solace in men, jobs, and her writing. What she must learn is how to find a way for my faith and my life to line up. Whitfields frank, vibrant memoir reads with the page-turning urgency of a novel you cant put down. Fans of Mary Karrs Lit and Anne Lamotts Traveling Mercies will want to read this book.
Marianne Gingher, Professor of English and Creative Writing, UNC, and author of A Girls Life and Adventures in Pen Land

Untetheredis a page-turning read for anyone who has dared to follow a dream, suffered tragic loss, and longed for redemption.
Michael Morris, author ofA Place Called Wiregrass,Slow Way HomeandMan in the Blue Moon

It's not easy to reach into our darkest truths. InUntethered,Whitfield takes the deep dive into faith, family, love, loss, and the longing to find oneself.
Cheryl Sharp, CEO of Sharp Change Consulting and former head of National Council for Behavioral Health's Trauma-Informed Care initiative

Untethered is about learning to forgive yourself and deal with the unresolved grief fromcompounded traumasthat so many of us as women carry, believingthat burden to be our crossto bear in silence and shame. A deep and satisfyingread.
Echo Montgomery Garrett, author ofMy Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Changeand cofounder of the Orange Duffel Bag Initiative

Author Bio

Laura grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina, the daughter of a journalist and a teacher. She has been an advertising copywriter, newspaper columnist, staff writer for an international relief agency, travel writer, blogger, teacher, communications director for several nonprofits, and personal assistant to a New York Times best-selling author. Laura is passionate about her faith, books, travel, nature (especially the beach), social justice, and her family. She lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, Stephen.