For Immediate Release 

In tough times, people search for messages that inspire and comfort them.  With high employment rates mounting, foreclosures, and the constant fear of illness coupled with a lack of adequate healthcare, countless Americans cling to the hope for a new and better day.  Just in time for this holiday season, Bishop T.D. Jakes publishes his debut novel specifically geared toward the Christmas season and is committed to spreading a message of hope.  In THE MEMORY QUILT: A Christmas Story For Our Times (Atria Books; November 2009; ISBN: 978-1-4391-7045-8; $19.99), Bishop Jakes weaves biblical verses about Mary, mother of Jesus, with the present-day story about a grandmother who has suffered many losses, yet through her readings of the Bible is reminded about the many gifts that remain all around her. 

Bishop T. D. Jakes, named by Time magazine and CNN as “America’s Best Preacher” and a New York Times bestselling author, is a leading voice of inspiration and hope for the millions of people who have read his books, attended services at The Potter’s House, participated in his wildly popular conferences, and watched his sermons on television.   

In THE MEMORY QUILT Lela Edwards is a grandmother who lives alone in Chicago, having remained in the very same neighborhood where she lived with her husband and raised their children.  Her husband of nearly 50 years has passed away and her three daughters are grown up and raising their own families.  Lela’s family is worried about her because the neighborhood is changing for the worst and crime is on the rise.  Lela, a self-sufficient and increasingly bitter woman, is constantly at odds with her family members and refuses to leave her home, despite the break-ins and robbery attempts that are happening around her. 

Lela, who is known for creating beautiful handmade quilts for landmark occasions in the lives of her loved ones’, is a dedicated and active member of her church, and the Bible is her constant reading companion.  Whenever Lela is at odds with loved ones – her granddaughter, Darcie, who is going through a painful divorce; her middle daughter, Jean, with whom she never sees eye-to-eye; her brother, Frank, who begs her to consider moving out of the neighborhood; or her friend, Barbara, whose ever cheerful outlook on life and towards others annoys Lela to no end – she turns to scripture for understanding and insight. 

In particular, the stories about Jesus’ mother, Mary, intertwined with the creation of one of her quilts, serve as the foundation for Lela’s journey in THE MEMORY QUILT.  Each story about Mary, whether about mercy, forgiveness, love and divorce, or trust and faith, draws the reader back to the happenings in Lela’s life, illustrating how the stories in the Bible very much resonate in our own everyday lives.  For Lela, it is these scriptures, and the final completion of her latest quilt, which lead her to a heightened level of understanding and empathy regarding her own family members.  Further, the scriptures compel Lela to offer the ultimate sacrifice – a loving and safe home for a woman with whom she initially refused to help because she presumed her to be undeserving of anyone’s support. 

THE MEMORY QUILT is a heartwarming page-turner which will be a must-read on the holiday wish lists of the diverse array of fans of Bishop T. D. Jakes’s books.  Readers will fall in love with Lela Edwards as they journey with her as she arrives at a place in her life where understanding, patience, love and compassion replace annoyance, disappointment, and bitterness.

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THE MEMORY QUILT: A Christmas Story for Our Times

By Bishop T. D. Jakes

November 2009

Atria Books

ISBN: 978-1-4391-7045-8

$19.99

208pp