How one woman overcame all odds with God's love, grace, and truth

LONGWOOD, FL--After a downward spiral sent author Judith Ann Hillard into a cycle of addiction, she was snatched from darkness and sheltered in the arms of God. The Other Woman at the Well (paperback, 1-60034-877-7) is the true-life account of a devastating addiction to cocaine in the life of a woman 'practically perfect in every way.' Hillard was the eldest child of a Protestant minister, a straight A student, student body president of her high school, homecoming queen of a large university, and the girl everyone wanted their son to marry. The recipient of several advanced degrees, she taught English, public speaking, educational research, and leadership for many years. Then she became a cocaine addict and lost nearly everything.

'Millions of people the world over suffer from addictions of every variety,' says Hillard. 'Sadly, it is the human condition to lean on things not to our edification. My book exclaims the promises of God to a frail, dying woman who has thrown herself away. He reaches down in His mercy and plucks her from certain death to breathe into her spirit His love, His grace, His truth, His miracles.'

Hillard's story is astonishing in its candor and passion. But the candor with which she relates her journey to the frightful 'underbelly' of the world also provides a caveat: 'I am at times too candid, too human, too real. I do not mince words nor beautify them to tell my story of overcoming addiction. I am, like the Velveteen Rabbit, made real by my humanity, by my weaknesses, by my addictive nature, by my willingness to receive God's grace and try in my brokenness to help others heal.'

By surviving the pain, she now feels prepared to bestow upon readers a gift of eternal proportions: a working knowledge of life and the hereafter.

Judith Ann Hillard lives in Phoenix with her daughter, Olivia Grace.