When I began writing Rejected, I set out to create a biblical retelling, a modern re-imagining of Hagar’s life with emotional depth, contemporary realism, and the fullness her story deserves. From the first page, my intention centered on bringing Hagar into our world, allowing readers to meet her not as a distant figure in an ancient text, but as a living, breathing girl whose experiences still echo today.
Hagar’s story carries themes of survival, agency, identity, and divine attention. These themes flourish in a modern setting, giving readers a chance to feel her journey through familiar environments, relationships, and pressures.
A Modern Setting Reveals Hagar’s Humanity
A contemporary landscape places Hagar in spaces readers recognize. Schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and broken systems all show the kinds of pressures and vulnerabilities that still shape girls and women today.
A modern lens highlights the emotional burden of being used for the benefit of others, the consequences of decisions made by people in power, the courage required to survive difficult circumstances, and the spiritual and personal awakening that follows suffering.
This approach allows Hagar’s story to connect intimately with readers who have walked similar paths or witnessed them up close.
Research Turned the Story Into Something Larger
When I started drafting, my primary focus was the biblical narrative, grounding every plot decision in the emotional truth of Hagar’s experience. As I researched modern parallels to her story, I encountered a deep well of information about coercion, exploitation, family vulnerability, and the countless ways young people become trapped inside systems stronger than they are.
This research added layers of realism and urgency to the book. It shaped characters, environments, turning points, and internal wounds. Hagar’s ancient experience illuminated modern realities, allowing the novel to carry both emotional truth and social awareness.
Retelling Hagar’s Story Elevates Her Strength
Hagar’s courage defines her story. She leaves harmful environments. She protects her child with fierce devotion. She speaks with God directly and names Him from her own revelation. She builds a life after abandonment.
A modern retelling honors these qualities through characters who navigate contemporary forms of rejection, resilience, and rebirth. It highlights Hagar as a girl who carries sacred strength within her, a strength that still resonates today.
Hagar’s Story Speaks Powerfully Into Today
Re-imagining Hagar in the present day allows her voice to rise with clarity. Her journey reflects experiences that many people still live such as strained family dynamics, spiritual confusion, the search for belonging, unexpected sources of hope, and the discovery of identity after hardship.
Her story shows the God who sees, the God who hears, and the God who meets people in the wilderness of their lives, whether that wilderness exists in ancient deserts or modern cities.
A Retelling Creates Space for Healing and Reflection
Rejected offers a space where readers can explore faith, trauma, survival, relationships, and redemption through a character whose story has always deserved more attention. Hagar’s modern counterpart gives readers someone they can relate to, root for, and learn from. Her journey becomes a bridge between ancient text and contemporary experience.
Buy Rejected to Learn More
The Rejected ebook is available for preorder today and will be released on Black Friday. The paperback and hardcover will be released on December 1st.
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