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To Those Who Battle in Silence

authorhannahcurrie


Hi everyone! I’m Hannah Currie and I write Young Adult Contemporary Christian Romance books with royal characters (aka YA Princess books, which is way easier to say!). I’m also a very proud Australian. G’day from Downunder! You can learn more about me and my books on my website and on Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.  My latest release, Heart of a Princess, is the second book in my Daughters of Peverell series.

To the watching world, Princess Alina has it all – maids to serve her, a kingdom to revere her, a prince to marry her, and a wardrobe filled with enough frills, flounces and shades of pink to rival a flower shop. But behind the smile and designer clothes, Alina has a secret. She’s barely holding it together.

After a moment of panic almost ends in tragedy, Alina is sent to a refuge far from the palace to recuperate. Her family claim it’s for her own good but – faced with cows, knife-beaked ducks and far too many of her own insecurities – Alina is pretty sure it will kill her first. And Joha Samson, infuriating man that he is, will laugh as it does.

Only there’s more to Joha than she realises, and more to herself too. When the time comes to take a stand, will she find the courage?

You can read the first two chapters here.

To Those Who Battle in Silence

As you might have figured out from the blurb, Princess Alina has pretty bad anxiety, something I never actually planned on writing about but somehow made its way into Alina’s character despite me. Likely because it’s something I’ve struggled with in my own life since my late teens. Not enough to incapacitate me like it does Alina, but always there. In every decision. Every minute of the day. That voice in my head – sometimes whispering, sometimes so loud it blocks out everything else– taunting me. Telling me I’ll never be enough. That everything is going to fall apart and it’ll be my fault. Playing through ‘what if’ after ‘what if’ after ‘what if’ until I’m all but curled up in a ball from the pressure of it all. 

Anxiety, like many mental battles, is an invisible fight. A silent one. One that more people than you know are probably fighting. One that you, yourself, might be fighting. Especially this year when, along with every new day, comes a new set of news reports, restrictions, and reasons to fear.   

Not giving away any major spoilers here but in Heart of a Princess, Alina never gets over her anxiety. It doesn’t magically go away. She still struggles just as badly with it at the end of the book as she does at the start. What she does find, however, is hope amidst the battle. A hope that helps her to fight.

Today, I wanted to encourage those of you fighting too. Those who don’t wear a cast but ache just as much. Those who are silent on the outside but, inside, screaming to be heard. Those who worry, who wonder, who overthink, and are broken over and over by the little things that they know shouldn’t matter but do.

You are seen. 
You are valued. 
You are enough. 

God sees your battle. He knows how much you struggle. He’s holding you together on those days when even deciding what outfit to wear is one thing too many. 

You don’t have to climb a mountain for him to be proud of you. Take courage, and take the next step, even if it’s more of a shuffle than a stride. Because even on those days when it feels like you’re all alone, you’re not. You are seen, dear one. You are valued. You are enough.

Published by authorhannahcurrie

349 thoughts on “To Those Who Battle in Silence”

    2. Thanks Jennifer 🙂 Happy Fall for you too. It’s Spring in Australia. Heading into the hot months… bleah. Feel free to send some cooler weather down here 😀 I love living in Australia but heat waves are no fun.

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  5. Thanks for being a part of this Scavenger Hunt, I just followed you on Facebook as Connie Porter Saunders and signed up for your newsletter.

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  10. Subscribed to your newsletter! Thank you so much for sharing this! I struggle with anxiety a lot and have since my early teens, so it is always encouraging to see others write about their own experiences with it and how God has moved in their lives.

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    1. Thankyou Hannah 🙂 (Great name!) Anxiety is such a hard thing to deal with. It is pretty amazing to see God work through it though, and know that he’s using this in my life to encourage others too. Makes it struggle worth it. Thanking God for you and your courage ❤

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    1. Thanks Sarah. I had no idea when I wrote this book a couple of years ago what the world would be dealing with when it released and how much I, and others, would need that encouragement. I love that God did! May God continue to encourage you through this time ❤

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  15. Thank you for your message about anxiety. Interestingly, it echoes the message I just read in “Living Lies” by Natalie Waters, and is very relevant to me, especially right now. I think I signed up for your newsletter. God bless.

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    1. Thanks Gabrielle 🙂 I’ve heard Living Lies is an amazing book (as is the rest of the series). Haven’t read it myself yet but it is on my TBR. So glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Thanks for stopping by 🙂

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    1. You’re welcome. Though I didn’t actually set out to write a book about anxiety (Alina sure surprised me with that! Who knew she was hiding it behind her smile?!?), I’m really thrilled people are being encouraged by it and her journey. I love how God does that.

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