Thinning with the Angels
A Journey of Adversity to New Life
by
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An Experience with an Angel I was studying at the Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University in New York when I had my first experience with an angel. The course of study for the six week session was very intense. The food service was excellent. There was a great deal of class time, research requirements that kept us in the library and some time for recreation. My recreation was to be in the pool every day from one to two o’clock in the afternoon. Sometimes I would go with another friend. Many times I swam alone. There was usually a life guard on duty. I do not consider myself to be an excellent swimmer. As long as I stay in relatively shallow water I am okay. I do not dive. I do not do tricks. I tend to float a lot and exercise by doing multiple stretches and aerobics. This particular afternoon I decided that my head was really stuffed with knowledge and I needed to just relax in the pool. I went with a friend and started my routine of trying to do a back stroke with intermittent floating. I was trying to relax. And indeed I did relax. Before I realized it, I had fallen asleep and woke up in twelve feet of water. I started to sink to the bottom of the pool. I tried to swim up to the surface and when I thought I was close enough I opened my mouth to scream “Help!.” But all I could do is gurgle some sound and my mouth and lungs filled with water. The pain was excruciating and I felt as if my chest was going to split right open. I sunk even further down to the bottom of the pool. I tried a second time to reach the surface, did the same routine of trying to yell for help and experienced even sharper pain and hopelessness. I knew I was going to die. Then I was asked a question. “Have you been a loving person?” I could honestly say that I had tried to be. I wasn’t perfect but I had tried to be a loving person. Then there was a moment of truth. A voice inside my heart said, “What you learn with your head is not as important as what you learn with your heart.” At that moment, there came around me a strong presence of being embraced with divine love. It was the most peaceful moment I have ever experienced. All of a sudden, my shoulder and arm were grabbed and slammed against the side of the pool. I was above water and breathing. I looked around to see who had helped me. My friend was at the other end of the pool oblivious to what had happened. The lifeguard was no where around. I was saved, I believe, by an angel of God, who was sent to me to give me that very important message. This was my first experience of an angelic presence in my life and one that I will never forget.
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About the Book
Addiction is a wicked disease that menaces its way into a person's life and gradually destroys the joy of living. Whatever the addicition, there comes a moment when one must face the truth about one's self. Thinning with the Angels is the story of an addict who faced with certain death decided to seek the path to new life. By overcoming a number of adversities, Jo Therese Fahres was able to step out of the bondage of doom and into a path of light. Her story is one of hope as she tells her story of what she found to be essential to choosing life again.
I would also like a few testimonials, an excerpt from the author page and the bar code.
Testimonials
This book will speak to your heart and soul. Spiritual energy and health are inseparable. The greatest lessons from her personal journey are not so much about what she lost, but in what she gained. She is a beacon of hope, light, wisdom, and truth to all those seeking to find their way out of morbid obesity.
---- Dr. Cindy Solliday-McRoy
Thinning with the Angels is the narrative of one person’s tastes at the buffet called Life. Some tastes linger and some pass quickly. Jo Therese Fahres invites us to listen to how she has been nourished and undernourished, weakened and finally strengthened at a banquet that eventually brings her to a balanced diet of God’s love and presence.
----Fr. Joseph Juknialis, Author
It is never about the food, or the cigarettes, or the drugs, or the violence. It’s the way we cope.
---- Sue Wroblewski, R.N.
About the Author
About the Author Jo Therese Fahres grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the youngest of nine children. Childhood experiences of abuse led her into a life of food addiction. Her obesity resulted in health issues that slowly strangled the quality of life from her. Poor decisions increased her immobility and dependence on others. Then the moment of truth came. Her choice was clear: Either pursue the truth or surely die at a young age. Thinning with the Angels is the story of her journey towards truth. Together with a God who loves unconditionally, Jo Therese was able to choose life again by overcoming a number of adversities. Her faith in the Divine Presence and in the angelic assistance that God provides to all human beings, Jo Therese was able to walk through dark periods of despair and find hope again. Jo Therese has worked in Church Ministry for over thirty years. She has written for Children Celebrate, a program of Pflaum Publishing Group that shares the Sunday Scripture readings with children. She currently serves as Director of Child Ministry at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, where she has worked for the past twenty-two years. Jo Therese has served as acting Spiritual Director for Third Order Lay Franciscan Groups. She facilitates days of prayer and reflection, recently speaking at the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Council of Christian Women Day of Reflection. She has taught both elementary and high school art and theology for twelve years in Milwaukee. Jo Therese holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Education and Religious Studies and a Masters Degree in Religious Studies from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. Jo Therese also studied at the Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure’s University in New York. Jo Therese has been married to her husband Jerry for 27 years. They are the proud parents of two young adults, Anthony and Therese. A resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jo Therese is an avid fan of the Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers.