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Encouraging others through writing
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem.Julie Arduini holds the newest book she has contributed her writing to, “God Encounters.” She has been a contributing author since 2007 and the book is available at Family Christian Book Store on Market Street in Boardman..
By SHAIYLA HAKEEM neighbors@vindy.com
For some, writing can be frustrating, worrisome or even painful. For Julie Arduini, it’s her passion. “I have been writing since before I knew how to read, I would just scribble. It was just always in me,” she said. Arduini has been a Boardman resident since 2004. Originally from upstate New York, she relocated to Ohio due to her husband’s job location in Pennsylvania. She has recently been published as a contributing author in the book, “God Encounters” which was edited by James Stuart Bell.
Her story, “Who Hung the Moon (Upside Down?),” portrays her experience of a car accident she was involved in while she was going through a high risk pregnancy. At one point in her life, everything seemed to go wrong. She had to leave her life in New York to relocate to an unfamiliar location, her father passed away and her daughter almost lost her life due to illness.
Arduini admits that she didn’t quite understand the purpose behind her tribulations, but it was all revealed to her through time. “It was to encourage other people. If I could make it through, anyone can,” she explains, “every single hard time that I did not want to go through has made it into a book.”
Though writing was Arduini’s passion, she didn’t begin contributing to books until 2007. Prior to this, she obtained a degree in communications and found herself as the publicity chairperson for Mothers of Preschoolers, where she handled newsletter publications.
Shortly after moving to Boardman, Arduini made a life-altering decision. “I felt the call like, ‘You know what, you were created to do more than newsletters, will you trust me to not be afraid and write, no matter what I ask you to write.’ And I said ‘yes, I’ll write,’ ” she said. Arduini enrolled and graduated from Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writers Guild which is a national organization. The guild provided her with hands-on experience in writing poetry, fiction, non-fiction, news writing and screen writing.
Arduini was paired with published authors who served as mentors and provided her with invaluable knowledge.
“It was really a nice diverse experience that showed me there is so much to writing that I didn’t understand,” Arduini said. Modern technology has given way to resources and opportunities that weren’t always possible.
Arduini has created a Facebook social group called The Surrendered Scribe. The group’s intent is to encourage and motivate individuals who find themselves overwhelmed with the storms and sharks in the sea of life.
Fear, Arduini says, is the No. 1 emotion that can inhibit life progression. “That’s what kept me from writing — my fear,” she explains. In the near future, Arduini is planning to publish a manuscript dealing with surrendering worries to God and she also plans to increase her public speaking engagements.
For information on her writing or public speaking availability, visit http://www.juliearduini.com. “I just want to be an encouragement,” Arduini said, “If you can surrender what is holding you back, nothing can stop you.”