Wayland author to give talk at Richland library

On Jan. 22 at the Richland Public Library, Wayland author, John Bain will talk about his new book, “Christie’s Journey: The Beat Goes On.”

The book is a true story of his family’s traumatic encounter with nearly losing their daughter in 2019 to an unknown birth defect that caused her pulmonary artery to be connected to the wrong side of her heart. The book chronicles the ordeal and how the family’s faith helped them persevere through the crisis.

“Christie is doing amazingly well, she is thriving and her family is thriving,” said Bain when asked about his daughter, Christie Firth. “She lives in Texas and things are going well, we have been blessed. The Lord has been good to us, we definitely recognize that.”

“Things have definitely changed since the story was published, but change is part of life,” said Bain. “Whenever I would tell people about what we went through, and what Christie went through, people would tell me that I should write a book.”

After recently retiring from radio broadcasting, Bain sat down in January of 2020 to begin his story.

“It was an amazing process to write this story, it just flowed out of me as I typed,” he said. “It was a very dramatic and traumatic experience. I thought about it constantly.

“And now, when I think about it, I feel that we were blessed, and now it is my job to get that message out.”

Bain self-published the book through Christian Faith Publishing.

“It’s amazing how I came to work with them,” he said. “I got an email that evolved into an interview. I can tell you that it was from a higher power.

“Opportunities have come about where we have been able to discuss our story with more people since it was published last year. I have been able to have personal appearances here in Iowa and in Texas.”

After the book talk, participants will have a chance to ask Bain questions about the book and his daughter’s experiences.

The book is available at in Kalona, and Washington bookstores, and can be purchased online through popular vendors. It is also available in public libraries throughout the area.