Tamara L. Lesley's 'A Chosen Journey' Explores Recovery and Hope at BIBF 2026

Vancouver, British Columbia Sep 23, 2026 (Issuewire.com) - Displayed at Booth 5A.B14, the book formed part of Explora Books' international showcase of independent authors, introducing a novel that blends fiction, personal testimony, and self-help guidance informed by Lesley's personal experiences with addiction and loss.

A Chosen Journey follows Jenna Cramer, a farm wife in rural North Carolina silenced by a violent husband, and Bree, a young woman hospitalized by addiction. Each escapes her circumstances and rebuilds her life before the two are reunited as counselors at a Winston-Salem hospital, guiding others toward the recovery they once needed themselves. Supporting characters, including Mrs. White, Dan Johnson, May, and Jake, surround Jenna and Bree with the compassion the novel presents as essential to healing. The story also carries the weight of Lesley's own life. She has said the novel emerged through automatic writing after the 2015 death of her son, who unknowingly used heroin laced with fentanyl. The book is dedicated to his memory.

The fair's 40th-anniversary edition brought together over 1,700 exhibitors from 82 countries and regions, with the United Arab Emirates serving as Guest of Honor under the theme "Community and People." That theme found a fitting echo in A Chosen Journey, a book built around the idea that recovery from abuse and addiction rarely happens alone. Jenna and Bree's transformation from patients to counselors offered a narrative counterpart to a fair exploring what community can mean in practice. Even amid programming focused on artificial intelligence and cross-media rights, organizers also pointed to a parallel current in Chinese publishing: nonfiction titles addressing emotional well-being have been among the country's fastest-growing categories, according to WeChat's 2026 World Book Day Reading Report. With its self-help focus and direct appeal to readers navigating trauma and recovery, A Chosen Journey aligned with that broader trend.

The novel's spiritual dimension, including its treatment of prayer and the concept of "walk-ins," gave the book a distinctive place among the fair's self-help titles, framing recovery as a matter of both practical support and inner conviction. Through its dedication, Lesley presents the book not simply as a story, but as an invitation to choose hope, recovery, and renewal. That message resonated with a fair whose anniversary theme emphasized the importance of community, dialogue, and shared human experience.

A Chosen Journey: A Self-Help Guide to Abuse and Addiction is available through Amazon and other major digital bookstores.

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