by Alana Terry
I nodded, clearing my throat before I could speak. “The choice isn’t my own.”
“How long do you expect to be gone?”
I couldn’t tell Mrs. Cho what I was already certain of in my heart. Unwilling to answer her question, I looked again at the journal on my desk. “I wrote to her as if I would never see her again.” I gazed at my daughter. She looked so much like her father I sometimes felt as though I was staring into the face of Kwan’s ghost. “If I return,” I finally faltered, “I’ll have no reason to hold on to this journal. I’ll tell her these stories myself when she is old enough.”
“And if you are … delayed?” Mrs. Cho asked.
“You must give it to her when you think best.” Forgive me, dear and precious Ae-Cha! Forgive me for the choices that robbed you of your mother at such a young and tender age.
“Please.” I turned my face away from the contented girl in my arms. “This is more than I can endure.” Mrs. Cho took Ae-Cha back from me and rocked my daughter in her arms. I motioned toward the journal. “I’m almost done. I need to finish before morning.”
Mrs. Cho looked at me with moist eyes. Did she sense what was about to transpire? “Do you want me to wake Ae-Cha up in the morning to see you off?”
I turned my back to the elderly woman and shook my head. “I don’t think I would be able to stand it.”
“Good-night, then, righteous daughter.” Mrs. Cho couldn’t keep her voice from breaking. She carried Ae-Cha out and closed the door behind her. The soft click echoed through my empty room.
I fingered the leather journal. I still hadn’t written any inscription on first page. Taking a deep breath, I let my tears splash onto the paper as I scrolled:
To my precious Ae-Cha,
so you will always know that you are
my beloved daughter.
Meet Alana
The Beloved Daughter was born out of Alana’s compassion for the persecuted church. Chung-Cha’s story was inspired by Alana’s deep prayer burden for suffering believers in North Korea. It has won several awards, including the Women of Faith writing contest and Book of the Month from The Book Club Network.
Please be sure to check out The Beloved Daughter: Bonus Materials if you want more information about the story behind The Beloved Daughter, including character sketches, stories behind the characters, and a mini-memoir of Alana’s experiences writing The Beloved Daughter. It’s only 99 cents on amazon, or you can get it free when you sign up for Alana’s newsletter. You may also be interested in Thirty Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, which Alana published as a companion prayer guide to go with this novel.
The Beloved Daughter is the prelude of a new series of Christian fiction set in North Korea. Alana’s next follow-up novel, Slave Again, divulges the fate of Mee-Kyong, Chung-Cha’s friend from Camp 22. If you don’t want to miss it, sign up for Alana’s newsletter, or make a donation to Liberty in North Korea to secure your free copy on release day.
Liberty in North Korea is an organization dedicated to helping refugees who escape North Korea. Want to help? Here are five ways to get involved:
1) Make a donation to Liberty in North Korea. (While you’re there, you can request a free ebook copy of The Beloved Daughter to pass on to a friend!)
2) Tell your friends about LiNK by using the social media buttons on the fundraiser page. (Tell them they can get a free copy of The Beloved Daughter too!)
3) Reserve your free copy of Slave Again, Alana’s next novel, by making a donation to LiNK at this fundraising page.
4) Check out the Authors and Readers for North Korea team to see what other fundraisers people have come up with to help rescue North Korean refugees.
5) Create a fundraising page of your own. Link it to the Authors and Readers for North Korea team for increased visibility and impact.
Table of Contents
Copyright
PART ONE
A Bruised Reed
The Test
Courage to Stand
PART TWO
Daughter of Righteousness
Daughter of Purity
Daughter of Truth
Broken Vessel
Healing Balm
Family
Call of Freedom
Visitor
Hovering
PART THREE
Furnace
Light of Dawn
Haunted
JOURNEY
Weary Traveler
Mountain Cleft
Unmerited
The Crossing
PART FOUR
Words Without Knowledge
Haven
The Gift
Unspoken
The Call
Seasons
Awakening
Attendant
Strangers
Flight
Rescuer
Trapped
PART FIVE
Interrogation
Behind Closed Doors
Deliverer
Unveiling
Revelation
Watchman
Homecoming
Redeemed
PART SIX
Called
Beloved
Omen
Nightmare
Messenger
Surrogate
Parting
About the author
Other books by Alana: