Author Interview with Sarah S. Brown about her book “Even the Ashes Bloom: Finding Beauty When You Feel Broken”
Alexis: What inspired you to write this book?
Sarah: There were seasons in my life where I felt deeply broken. Disappointment, heartbreak, unmet expectations…the kind that shake your identity and leave you wondering who you even are anymore. And in those moments, I found myself asking: God, what are You doing here? Can anything good really come from this?
As I began to heal, I realized something powerful—God wasn’t just meeting me after the hard parts. He was present in them. Gently restoring, reframing, redeeming. This book was born out of that journey and the answer to a prayer I prayed for many years—that God would use my story to help others.
I wrote Even the Ashes Bloom for the woman who feels like her life didn’t turn out the way she prayed it would. For the one sitting in the aftermath—of loss, betrayal, disappointment—wondering if beauty is still possible.
This book is a reminder that God does some of His most tender, redemptive work right there in the ashes.
Alexis: How did you create the title “Even the Ashes Bloom: Finding Beauty When You Feel Broken”?
Sarah: The title came from this image that kept coming back to me—How, after a wildfire, certain seeds only open because of the fire. They’re called “fire-followers.” What looks like complete devastation becomes the very condition for new life. That felt like my story.
Even the Ashes Bloom is a reminder that the very places that feel destroyed aren’t beyond redemption. They’re often where God is doing His most meaningful work. And the subtitle—Finding Beauty When You Feel Broken—speaks directly to the heart of the reader. Because most of us don’t walk around saying, “I’m in a season of transformation.” We say, “I feel broken.” And I wanted to meet women right there.
Alexis: How did God bring beauty out of the very thing that broke you? Share the story.
Sarah: There was a season in my life where everything I thought my life would be…wasn’t. A marriage that didn’t last. Expectations that unraveled. A deep sense of shame I didn’t know how to name, much less release.
But as God began to untangle the lies I had believed about myself and replace them with truth, He showed me that my identity was never rooted in my circumstances—it was rooted in Him.
What I've come to see now is that the very thing that broke me became the place where God rebuilt me. Not into the person I thought I was supposed to be, but into someone more grounded, more honest, and more anchored in Him than I had ever been before.
He took what felt like ashes—loss, disappointment, shame—and grew something new in that same soil: deeper faith, restored identity, and a hope that isn't dependent on everything going right. He didn't waste a single part of it. And that's the beauty I didn't see coming.
Alexis: What was it like to share your journey through heartbreak, healing, and hope? Was it hard to be transparent?
Sarah: Yes…and no. There were definitely moments when I paused and thought, "Do I really want to say this out loud?" Because once it’s on the page, you can’t take it back. But I kept coming back to this: Someone else is living this too. And if my willingness to be honest could help someone feel less alone, less ashamed, or more seen by God, then it was worth it. I didn’t want to write from a place of perfection. I wanted to write from a place of healing.
Alexis: In what ways do you hope your story will help your readers?
Sarah: More than anything, I want readers to find peace in the middle of pain and uncertainty—and to release the shame that has told them they are too far gone. I want them to rediscover their worth in Jesus Christ, to see how faith can flourish even in barren seasons, and to embrace healing through reflection, journaling, and prayer. And above all, I want them to trust that as long as they are alive, God is still writing their story.
Alexis: What do you mean when you say God is planting seeds of new life in scorched places?
Sarah: Sometimes growth doesn’t look like growth. It looks like loss. It looks like silence. It looks like everything falling apart. But just because we can’t see what God is doing, doesn’t mean He isn’t working.
I know this to be true because I’ve lived it. The areas I wanted to hide, the ones that felt the most barren, those became the places where He began reshaping me from the inside out. Not all at once, and not in ways that were always obvious. Because seeds don’t grow overnight and they don’t grow where everyone can see them. They grow in the dark. In the waiting. In the quiet work that feels hidden but isn’t wasted. Over time, what once felt lifeless begins to tell a different story.
Alexis: Was it hard to make the book part memoir and part devotional?
Sarah: It was a balancing act. The memoir pieces required vulnerability—going back into real moments, real emotions, real memories. And the devotional pieces required clarity—Asking, “What is God inviting the reader into here?”
The most challenging part was making sure the story always served the reader—not just my own processing. But the most rewarding part? Watching those two elements come together in a way that doesn’t just tell a story but transforms one. Because it’s not just about what I’ve been through—it’s about what God wants to do in them.
Alexis: How did God help you find peace in the middle of your pain and uncertainty?
Sarah: Peace looked like small, quiet moments. Sitting with Scripture, whispered prayers, and choosing to trust God when I didn’t understand what He was doing.
There were still questions and uncertainty. That part didn’t magically disappear. But over time, I began to realize that peace wasn’t the absence of pain—it was the presence of God in the middle of it. It was the sense that I wasn’t alone in what I was walking through. That even when everything around me felt unstable, I was still being held.
Alexis: How did God help you release shame and discover your worth in Jesus Christ?
Sarah: Shame has a way of convincing you that you are what you’ve been through. It doesn’t just remind you of your past—it tries to redefine you by it.
For a long time, I carried that weight. I believed the lie that my worth was somehow tied to my mistakes— that I had to spend my life making up for them or proving I was still enough. But God began to show me that shame is not from Him. It’s something He came to remove.
And He didn’t do that all at once—it was a process. Through Scripture, prayer, therapy, and the steady encouragement of people who spoke truth over me when I couldn’t see it for myself, God started to gently unravel the lies I had believed. He kept reminding me that my past does not define my worth—and that I don't have to earn His love. It was already mine. Little by little, that truth began to take root. I started to see the difference between conviction and condemnation. One draws you closer to God, and the other pushes you into hiding.
Over time, I began to understand that my worth wasn’t something fragile I could lose—it was something secure in Christ. I realized that God was never asking me to carry shame. He was inviting me to lay it down. And when that finally settled into my heart, it didn’t just change how I saw myself, it changed how I lived.
Alexis: What has God taught you about how faith can flourish in barren seasons?
Sarah: He taught me that barren doesn’t mean empty.
Some of the deepest growth in my life didn’t happen in seasons of abundance. It happened in seasons where I felt stripped down to almost nothing. The things I once relied on were gone or shaken, and I didn’t have the answers I thought I needed. But that’s where something shifted. Because that’s where my faith stopped depending on circumstances and started depending on God.
In those barren seasons, I learned that faith isn’t proven when everything is going right—it’s formed when you choose to trust God when nothing makes sense. When prayers feel unanswered. When the outcome is unclear. When all you can do is take the next step in front of you.
God showed me what looked like a barren season was a season of preparation. God was strengthening my foundation, reshaping my understanding of who He is, and teaching me that even when life feels still or uncertain, He is always at work.
Alexis: How did reflection, journaling, and prayer help heal your pain?
Sarah: They gave my pain somewhere to go. Instead of carrying everything internally, I was able to process it with God honestly and openly, without filtering or trying to “clean it up” first.
There were moments when I didn’t even know what I was feeling, just that it was heavy. Journaling helped me slow down enough to name it. To get it out of my head and onto the page. It was in those pages that I began to see patterns—lies I had been believing, fears I hadn’t acknowledged, and places where I was still holding on instead of letting God in.
Prayer became less about saying the “right” words and more about being real with God. Sometimes it was just a sentence. Sometimes it was silence. But it was a space where I could bring everything—the questions, the anger, the grief—and trust that He could handle it.
Reflection helped me look back and recognize something I often missed in the moment: God had been with me all along.
Even in the seasons that felt the most confusing or painful, I could begin to trace His presence—through people, through small moments of provision, through the quiet ways He sustained me when I didn’t think I could keep going.
It didn’t take the pain away overnight. But it helped me process it, release it, and slowly begin to heal instead of just carry it.
Alexis: What is the BLOOM framework? How does it work?
Sarah: The BLOOM framework is a simple, intentional way to move from reading to transformation. Each chapter ends with this rhythm:
- Believe – Anchor yourself in a core truth
- Linger – Sit with Scripture and let it speak to you
- Observe – Notice what God is doing in your life
- Offer – Respond through prayer
- Magnify – Shift your focus to God’s presence and respond through action
Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Sarah! God bless you and your book.
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Author Bio:
Sarah S. Brown is a Christian author and speaker who helps women anchor their identity in Christ and find renewed confidence through life’s hardest seasons.
A former teacher, she contributed to Hope for the Holidays, A Year of Hope, and bestseller Stories of Good Grief, Vol.2. Sarah was named a Woman of Influence by the Nashville Business Journal. Her book, Even the Ashes Bloom, invites readers on a faith-filled journey from brokenness to spiritual renewal.
Sarah lives in Tennessee with her husband and two sons and believes strong coffee and shared stories can change the world.
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Book Blurb:
Have you ever wondered if God could bring beauty out of the very thing that broke you?
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Book Blurb:
Have you ever wondered if God could bring beauty out of the very thing that broke you?
In Even the Ashes Bloom, Sarah S. Brown invites you on a heartfelt journey through heartbreak, healing, and hope. After walking through the devastation of divorce, Sarah discovered a God who doesn’t discard broken soil—He restores it. Through her story, you’ll find comfort in knowing that your pain isn’t wasted, your story isn’t over, and God is already planting seeds of new life in the very places that feel scorched.
Part memoir, part devotional, Even the Ashes Bloom weaves together Scripture, storytelling, and soul-nourishing reflection to help you:
- Find peace in the middle of pain and uncertainty
- Release shame and rediscover your worth in Christ
- See how faith can flourish even in barren seasons
- Embrace healing through reflection, journaling, and prayer
Even when all you see is ashes, God is already growing something beautiful.
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Buy Sarah’s book:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books-A-Million
Walmart
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Connect with Sarah:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsarahsbrown/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorsarahsbrown
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorsarahsbrown/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/authorsarahsbrown/
Website: sarahsbrown.com
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