Steph Penny
Steph Penny is an author-by-accident who started writing non fiction self-help with a quirky twist when she couldn’t find the book she wanted in a bookstore. Steph loves writing books that address too-hard-basket dilemmas and wrestle with big questions of faith (without necessarily providing any answers). Steph has written three books in her Survival series: Surviving Chronic Illness, Surviving Childlessness and Surviving Singledom. Steph blogs weekly about these Survival issues and occasionally speaks about them on radio. Steph is also a singer/songwriter and has published a minuscule number of songs on YouTube. In her spare time, Steph works as a psychologist, dabbles in fantasy writing, spends far too much money on chocolate and secondhand clothing, and hangs out with her husband and rescue cat.
Self-help, non fiction, Christian/religious
Surviving Chronic Illness: Grace in the Flames
Surviving Childlessness: Faith and Furbabies
Surviving Singledom: Or Hang In There!
Life is supposed to be simple—isn’t it? So what do you do when you find yourself living in a marginalised minority group, even within your community of faith? Steph Penny’s Survival series explores this dilemma for those living with unwanted singleness, childlessness and chronic illness. From dealing with social stigma, to grieving the life you wanted, to wrestling with God, to sanity-saving strategies, Steph invites us into hope-filled spaces and honest prayer with good humour, reminding us we are not alone.
Surviving Chronic Illness: a quirky, brutally honest, yet hopeful look at life with illness. Everything from work to sanity to faith can be impacted by the flames of prolonged sickness, resulting in grief, trauma and, sometimes, resilience. Steph tells her own story of surviving Lupus (known as ‘the great chameleon’) and looks for creative and hopeful ways of responding to illnesses that never take a day off. Steph ultimately encourages us to hold on to Jesus, relying on the grace that awaits us in the midst of the inferno of illness.
Surviving Childlessness: a hopeful and uplifting book containing 13 stories of childlessness from around the world, plus Steph’s own story of childlessness-by-forced-choice. Steph encourages us to find our anchors in God, even in the grief of childlessness.
Surviving Singledom: an encouraging book that unpacks the challenges of being single in church and society. Steph encourages us to live for Christ—regardless of our relationship status.
