"Mom, I have something I need to tell you..." They didn't talk. Not for ten years. Not about faith anyway. Instead, a mother and daughter tiptoed with pain around the deepest gulf in their lives - the daughter's choice to leave the church, convert to Islam and become a practicing Muslim. Undivided is a real-time story of healing and understanding with alternating narratives from each as they struggle to learn how to love each other in a whole new way. Written with rare honesty and striking transparency, Undivided opens a door on the lives of an American Islamic convert, Alana Raybon, a dedicated educator, and her devout Christian mother, Patricia Raybon, an award-winning author, as they struggle to reconcile and heal their family divided by faith. An important work for parents whose adult children have left the family's belief system, it will help those same children as they wrestle to better understand their parents. For anyone troubled by the broader tensions between Islam and the West, this personal story distills this friction into the context of a family relationship—a journey all the more fascinating. While a conversation is desperately needed in America between Christians and Muslims, Undivided offers a real-time conversation to follow. Undivided is a tremendously important book for our time. Will Patricia be able to fully trust in the Christ who "holds all things together?" Will Alana's love for God cause her to become an outcast to her family—or provide a path that leads her back home? And can they answer the question that both want desperately to experience: "Can we make our torn family whole again?"
Author
A writer of faith by day and mystery by night, Patricia Raybon is a Christy Award-winning Colorado author and novelist who writes daring and exciting books and novels at the intersection of faith and race. After a notable career in newspaper journalism and journalism education, Patricia turned to fiction with release of a 1920s mystery series about a prim, poor but clever Black female theologian—a fan of Sherlock Holmes—who solves murder and crime in Colorado’s dangerous Klan era. The series' acclaimed debut, "All That Is Secret: An Annalee Spain Mystery," won the 2022 Christy Award for First Novel and was a Parade Magazine Fall 2021 "Mysteries We Love" selection, a Masterpiece on PBS "Best Mystery Books of 2021" pick "As Recommended by Bestselling Authors," and Stephen Curry's March 2022 personal choice for his Literati Book Club. "Double the Lies," the second installment in the Annalee Spain Mysteries, finds amateur detective Annalee racing the clock to solve the murder of a barnstorming White stunt pilot before she is framed by Colorado's ruthless Klan for the crime—and before his dashing twin falls head over heels for the Black theologian, tempting her recently promised heart. "It's something special," says Steph Curry about the Annalee story. Best-selling authors agree. "Brava, Patricia. It is captivating." (Jerry B. Jenkins) "Readers will be hooked from the first line of this page-turning mystery...Captivating." (Julie Cantrell) "A good mystery." (Rhys Bowen) "Fast-paced and intriguing." (Manuel Ramos) "Engrossing and thrilling....This intrepid sleuth would give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money." (Sophfronia Scott). For a deep dive into Patricia's compelling world of faith and fiction, connect with her daring and insightful books—and receive a free download of her "Busy Person's Guide to Hearing God" — at patriciaraybon.com
