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Each brave step
brings with it
a little more joy
alongside the pain.

STEP 1: ORDER

STEP 2: FILL OUT FORM BELOW TO START READING NOW

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FIRST LISTEN

Sample and purchase the audiobook here

PURCHASE THE AUDIOBOOK

After being married for less than a year, country music legend Alan Jackson’s daughter Mattie was faced with navigating a future that didn’t include her young husband and their lifelong plans.

Ben Selecman passed away twelve days after a traumatic brain injury—and three weeks before celebrating his first anniversary with his wife. Twenty-eight-year-old Mattie had to find a way to move forward and reconcile herself with a good God, even when He did not give her the healing miracle she prayed for.

In Lemons on Friday, readers walk with Mattie Jackson Selecman during the first years of grief following Ben’s tragic death as she grapples with her loss and leans on a steadfast God. Based on Selecman’s journal writings, Lemons on Friday will speak to all readers who must carry on without their loved ones and take a hard look at faith when their lives have not gone as planned.

Lemons on Friday will walk with you through life's tough questions such as:

  • How did I get here?
  • Will this always hurt?
  • Who am I now?; and,
  • How do I move forward?

“When fundamental parts of our lives are lost, when people and things we thought we’d never lose are suddenly gone, it’s natural to want answers,” writes Selecman. “Why did this happen? Who’s to blame? What could I have done differently? And for many of us in the aftermath of life-shattering change, we also want to know, where is God? Not just where was He when the tragedy happened, but where is He now in my darkest days of hurt, wondering, and longing for comfort? When I am on the floor, writhing in tears with no idea what the rest of my life will look like, where is God?”

Lemons on Friday offers insight and peace for anyone grieving, but especially for young people experiencing loss and facing a future that feels full of question marks.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mattie Jackson Selecman

Mattie Jackson Selecman is a certified sommelier and previously owned a wine bar in Nashville. She also has a degree in creative writing from the University of Tennessee. Tragically, she lost her husband of less than a year, Ben Selecman, in September 2018 after he suffered a traumatic brain injury while on vacation in Florida. Despite her grief, Mattie is pushing forward and has dedicated herself to helping others. Mattie and her business partner, Brooke Tometich, started a philanthropic merchandise brand dubbed "NaSHEville" in order to help women and children in need-specifically orphans, widows, and trafficked women.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR LEMONS ON FRIDAY

“Mattie’s story carries you through a valley of unbearable heartbreak, and in the very next moment you are experiencing an ocean of peace that is the heartbeat of Jesus. Her honesty and vulnerability in this book are a beacon of light to any heart that has experienced total darkness. The courage and wisdom expressed through her words will inspire hope in readers, no matter their walk of life.”

—Lauren Akins, author of the New York Times bestseller Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life's Challenges

MEDIA

For U.S. press inquiries regarding Lemons on Friday, please contact
Chasity Edwards at [email protected].