Available Now! - A Novel
Former Things Forgotten
by Thomas Trezise
About the Novel
Former Things Forgotten
Moonshine makes Tessa Gibbs’s father mean, and getting religion makes him cruel and judgmental. Red-headed and determined Tessa is desperate to escape him, his God, and her home in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee. When a college scholarship provides the key to a new life, Tessa leaves the mountains but finds herself unfulfilled and always reaching for something beyond.
Created for a kingdom of which she has no earthly memory, Tessa doesn’t know she was part of a failed rebellion against God in heaven and sent to be born on fallen earth. Will she continue to choose her own way and resist all efforts to bring her back to the Kingdom? An intense battle wages to return her soul to God … and may require an ultimate sacrifice.
This intriguing and unforgettable story of love at the intersection of heaven and earth, where relationships are eternal and hard choices determine destinies, examines the questions, answers, and consequences of life lived for self or for God.
Free Study Guide Available
Download a free Study Guide that accompanies Former Things Forgotten.
The Guide helps explore questions presented throughout the book.
Quotes from the Book
The Beast was loose. Tessa knew it by the screams.
“Tessa, God asked us to choose between him and Helel. You have asked me to come with you, but you don’t even know where you are going. I cannot choose you over God.” Her eyes changed again—to the same leaden gray he had seen at her rock. She professed happiness, but her eyes told him otherwise. “I follow Helel to freedom, but I do not find joy in choosing Helel when I have lost you. Please come with us. I don’t know how I will live without you.” She vanished as her last sentence hung in the air.
The religion Henry Gibbs had found on Christmas Eve had ceased being the joyful faith in Christ and instead filled with judgment, rules, and condemnation. A mean Christianity had blossomed in him. He swapped one addiction, one sickness, for another—liquor for religion.
“This is beyond pretty, El. There’re no words t’describe it. The entire world spreads out there before me.” “It does take my breath away, Tessa.” “Takes more than my breath. Takes my mind. May have taken my soul. I think I’m going to have to go out there to find it. There’s more than Log Mountain waitin’ for me out there, El.”
“Momma, I thought you understood. Guess I was wrong.” Long-bottled angst spilled with her words. “If you continue t’take his side when he acts like this, then I’m through with you too. I’m telling you this. I’ve had it with him and all his church and Bible stuff and don’t give a damn about it or what either of you think. Both of you better leave me alone, or this place is goin’ t’become a livin’ hell for you. It already is for me.”
After a few minutes, Tessa turned to Roy and looked up to his closed eyes. She muttered softly, not sure if her words had remained thoughts or had voice. “Roy McCubbin—are you ever going to kiss me?”
Tessa finally raised her head and looked at Mandy. “I said I know. I know you’ve always had the peace that’s inside you. Not something that comes from other people or things. It’s inside you. It’s part of you. I haven’t wanted to face it. I’ve had my own plans. They’ve always come up empty. Tonight was just the most recent.”
About Thomas Trezise
Tom Trezise is a retired lawyer and corporate executive with over twenty years of experience as a Methodist lay preacher. Raised in Appalachia, he proudly calls himself a hillbilly at heart. He is the executive director of The Everyday Kingdom, a non-profit devoted to fostering a community that helps people find and experience the peace, purpose, and joy available from living every day in Christ’s kingdom. He is a former blogger, and Former Things Forgotten is his debut novel. He and his wife, Kathy, live in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and have two adult children. He enjoys reading at the beach and playing golf.