When Hearts Conjoin by Erin Herrin & Lu Ann Staheli

When Hearts Conjoin

By Erin Marie Herrin with Lu Ann Brobst Staheli

RPE Publishing, May 2009

Review by Heather B. Moore

“Some people believe angels are real. Some believe they walk among us. On August 7, 2006, on the fourth floor of Primary Children’s Hospital, angels were there to comfort me on the scariest day of my life.”—begins the remarkable true story of the conjoined Herrin twins in the long-awaited memoir, When Hearts Conjoin. The account of Kendra and Maliyah’s birth and subsequent separation has appeared in magazine articles and newspaper articles around the world. So it was with eager anticipation that I read an advance copy of When Hearts Conjoin—the real story, as told by their mother, Erin Herrin.

From the first page, I was swept into the life of Erin and found myself reading the entire book in one day. The rollercoaster of emotions that she and her husband experienced left me breathless and in tears many times. Her pain was my pain, and her joy became my joy. At times, the reality of what Erin underwent in a physical sense and what she and her husband experienced emotionally and spiritually were overwhelming. I could barely comprehend experiencing one of their trials—let alone the combination of a miscarriage, the pending divorce with Jake, a father with stage four cancer, a father-in-law rapidly deteriorating from Parkinson’s, making the decision between the life and death of two children, a series of critical surgeries, a kidney donation, and finally the decision to separate the conjoined girls.

How could Erin and her husband endure all this and still keep their family together? The answer may seem inexplicable: Faith. Yet it was the only way. Their faith, combined with prayers from every corner of the world sustained them through the deepest valleys of despair.

In order to tell her story, Erin Herrin had to revisit the past, oftentimes painful memories, some of which she kept tightly locked in her heart. In a recent interview, co-author, Lu Ann Staheli said, “Probably the most difficult thing about [writing] this book was that Erin had tried so hard to shut out all the fears and bad memories from the past that she had almost blocked out some of the very details we needed to make this story alive enough to touch the hearts of the readers.”

I must wholeheartedly agree with the foreword penned by Richard Paul Evans, “I’m honored to introduce this amazing experience of sacrifice, faith and tender moments of quiet determination that can only come through the purest love. A mother’s love. A mother’s story. This is Erin Herrin’s journey to claim her family and keep them close to her heart.”

You will not be the same person after reading this book. It will change you. It has changed me. For continual updates and photos, or to order a copy of the book, visit the Herrin Family website: http://www.herrintwins.com/

Tower of Strength by Annette Lyon

By Brittany Mangus


Below is my interview with author Annette Lyon about her wonderful new historical fiction novel Tower of Strength. I love historical novels and was very thrilled to read Annette's latest creation! I was so excited to read Tower because I went to Snow College and loved the Manti area. Anyway, because of that, I thought I would include some of my own photos in this interview.


Q: Spires of Stone was a take on Shakespeare's Much Ado. Was there a book or play that inspired the storyline of Tower of Strength?

A: The storyline for Tower of Strength grew organically after researching the Manti area and the temple. One day as I was blow-drying my hair, Tabitha appeared in my head. I knew her background and even that she hated being called, "Tabby." Then as I wrote the book, I felt a bit like an archaeologist uncovering a story that was already there. The process was very different than with Spires of Stone, where I went into the book with a pretty clear framework.


Q: This is the fourth book in your temple series. (The other books have centered around the Salt Lake Temple, the St. George Temple and the Logan Temple.) I have ancestral ties to the early pioneers who helped settle the Bear Lake Valley and who helped build the Logan Temple. What draws your interest or inspires you in the historical aspect of the early Utah temples and the Mormon pioneers?

A: My original fascination began solely with the Logan Temple, which has some family connections for me. I wanted to write about it, so I did. Then I decided that it was such a rewarding experience that I wanted to learn more about other temples and write about them. Both sides of my family came into the Church relatively recently, so I personally have no pioneer blood. Writing about the Saints who settled Utah and Arizona has made me feel connected to Church history in a way I never did before. I also have a greater appreciation for temples than I used to.

Q: I love names. How did you choose the first and last names for your characters in Tower of Strength? Do they have a special significance? At any point were they changed?

A: Tabitha showed up with her own name. Will's name changed at one point after my critique group debated on whether his original nickname fit the period, but I don't think anyone else had a name change.

I keep a running list of names from the 1800s that I've found in either old records or on headstones from that era. When I need a first or last name, I consult that list. One name I picked deliberately was Wilhelmina--it sounded a bit abrasive and uptight, so it seemed to fit her character.


Q: Did you have a working title for the book that was not Tower of Strength?

A: This may sound odd, but I don't usually have working titles. The marketing department picks the title, and it's almost never what the author submitted a book as. For me, it's hard to call a book something and then have to rename it, so I just refer to manuscripts along the lines of, "my Manti book." I was pleased with the title they picked--the towers are under construction during the story, so the title can refer to the temple, but it also refers to a major theme with Tabitha, who's had to be a major tower of strength in her own right just to survive.

Q: Margaret Mitchell famously wrote the last chapter of Gone with the Wind first. Did you know how the story would end before you finished it, or, while writing it, did the story take on a life of it's own and dictate its own ending?

A: I pretty much knew the basic story arc from the beginning, although I did discover a lot along the way. I didn't know exactly what the final scene would be and even played with the end in revisions even though I knew what would happen with all the major characters, including Mantia.

There's a significant scene near the end between Tabitha, Samuel, and Mantia that I knew about very early on. It was one of the first parts I wrote.

Check out the book trailer! Manti is interesting... (if you learn to ignore the turkey smell).