Mattingly, Stacy

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Mattingly, Stacy

PERSONAL:

Education: Northwestern University, B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—VA.

CAREER:

Freelance writer.

WRITINGS:

(With Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer) Prisoners of Hope: The Story of Our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Ruth Graham) In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart: Hope for the Hurting, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2004.

(With Ruth Graham) A Legacy of Love: Things I Learned from My Mother, Inspirio/Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2005.

(With Ashley Smith) Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2005.

(With Ruth Graham) A Legacy of Faith: Things I Learned from My Father, Inspirio (Grand Rapids, MI), 2006.

ADAPTATIONS:

In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart: Hope for the Hurting was released as an audio book by Zondervan, 2004; Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero was released as an audio book by Zondervan, 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Stacy Mattingly is a freelance writer who helps others to describe momentous events in their lives. Mattingly has worked on several projects with Ruth Graham, the daughter of evangelist Billy Graham. These titles include In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart: Hope for the Hurting, A Legacy of Love: Things I Learned from My Mother, and A Legacy of Faith: Things I Learned from My Father. Mattingly also coauthored a book by missionaries Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, Prisoners of Hope: The Story of Our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan, as well as Ashley Smith's inspirational tale, Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero.

Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer were serving as humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan when they were arrested in 2001 and placed on trial, accused of encouraging people to accept the Christian faith. The two women were imprisoned with little hope of release, fearing for their lives. Eventually they were set free in a daring raid led by U.S. Special Forces. Upon their return, Curry and Mercer teamed with Mattingly to describe their ordeal in Prisoners of Hope. The book details the faith that kept Curry and Mercer strong while in prison, their warm welcome home, and their intentions to return to Afghanistan to continue their aid efforts.

Mattingly is perhaps best-known for her collaborations with Ruth Graham. Despite being the beloved daughter of one of the world's best known evangelists, Graham has suffered through many of the issues that face American women: failed marriages, troubled offspring, and deep-seated self-doubt. Graham's book In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart, coauthored with Mattingly, describes Graham's successful efforts to heal herself and her family using the tools of her faith. In Today's Christian, Mike Parker cited Graham's book for its "solace, comfort, and encouragement." Mattingly also aided Graham in the creation of two memoirs, one about Graham's mother and one about her father. Booklist contributor Ray Olson, in his piece on A Legacy of Faith, called the work "lovely looking" and especially noted Mattingly's "warmly acknowledged help" in the preparation of the manuscript.

Ashley Smith was an admitted drug addict when she found herself held hostage in her apartment by a murderer. As the tense situation unfolded, Smith talked, prayed, and even offered the man drugs—he finally surrendered to authorities after a seven-hour siege. Mattingly helped Smith to recall the ordeal in Unlikely Angel, a work described in Publishers Weekly as an "inspirational tract" that could "become required reading in rehab clinics."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2006, Ray Olson, review of A Legacy of Faith: Things I Learned from My Father, p. 8.

Publishers Weekly, September 26, 2005, review of Unlikely Angel: The Untold Story of the Atlanta Hostage Hero, p. 80; April 3, 2006, review of A Legacy of Faith, p. 65.

Today's Christian, May 1, 2005, Mike Parker, review of In Every Pew Sits a Broken Heart: Hope for the Hurting.