Here’s to the Nights

About the Book

Death is not what happens to those who have gone before us. Rather it is what happens to those left behind. Those loved ones who are left dealing with the aftermath of losing that person. At a tender age Rachel Hillard learned that truth. A truth that sent her spiraling down a path she never thought her life would go. For the four years following the death of her fiancé Rachel took turns along her life’s path deviating from her original plans by monumental degrees. The years following the death Rachel let go of not only her experiences with life but also the person she had worked so hard to become. Yet when the day came for her to realize that she had to continue to live she found herself facing the most profound journey she had yet to face. The journey to find herself again, they journey to reconnect with her faith and find forgiveness. That journey would leave Rachel facing moral challenges she never thought possible and truly finding that strength everyone else had always seen in her. In love and life there are reasons for everything. Though God may not show them to us, they are there. And the true meaning of faith is to understand and trust that truth above all others. In the end Rachel had to face her demons to accept that ideal. And when she did, the dawning of the end of one life gave way to the beginning of a new life. A new Rachel.

About the Author

Tonya Young has been writing for publications since she was thirteen. She has contributed to many newsletters, and has professionally worked in the journalism field for more than five years. Mrs. Young was recognized for being the youngest female editor to graduate from her high school, Okeechobee High School, to become editor of a local newspaper at twenty three. She also majored in Communications with a minor study in English Literature. Her hometown of Okeechobee, Florida has not only influenced her own character but also those of her characters in this novel Here’s to the Nights. As her first published Novel Mrs. Young hopes to relay the message and importance of hope, faith and gratitude. As well as honestly portraying the story of a personal experience while honoring the memory of lost loved ones. In her own words, “death does not happen to those who die, rather those left behind. But there is a reason, a plan for it all. God always has a plan, though his and mine may not always be the same, I’m certain his will prevail for the greater interest of all involved. And until we learn to accept that, to live with that, we cannot see life for its blessings. Even the sorrow and tragedies are blessings. They are learning experiences, moments when He shows us what we’re truly made of. I hope that this story can relate to others in a way that says ‘it is possible, even when you think there’s nothing left, you will stand again.”