Published books

Laughing in the Dark
Book Summary
When Malik “Mack” Freeman returns to his strange hometown for Grandma Ruby’s funeral, he expects grief, awkward family conversations, and maybe a house he can sell to fix his broken life. Instead, he inherits the old Freeman home on Mercy Lane, a house the locals swear has been “resting” for years and should never be entered after midnight.
Malik laughs off the warnings, because joking is how he survives fear. But the house begins to speak. A locked room laughs upstairs. A basement door breathes. Family portraits change faces. Bibles turn blank in church. And across Freeman Crossing, people begin laughing uncontrollably before vanishing into the darkness below town.…

When you have nothing left to give God, He meets you in the quiet.
Chronic pain, unexpected illness, and deep grief have a way of stripping away our spiritual routines. When reading feels exhausting and long prayers feel impossible, many believers quietly suffer from spiritual isolation, feeling as though their faith is failing because their bodies are failing.
Ordinary Liturgies for Heavy Days offers a gentle, revolutionary path forward. Moving past standard religious platitudes, this book provides bite-sized spiritual anchors, three-line prayers, and honest reflections designed for moments when you have zero energy left to spare.
Discover how to:
Release the pressure to perform religious duties during physical or emotional distress.…

The America We Remember is a powerful journey through the nation’s story, told through the lives of the ordinary people who built it, carried it, suffered through it, and kept believing in its promise. From the land before the flag to the struggles for freedom, from slavery and survival to migration, faith, family, labor, justice, and hope, this book honors the people often left outside the center of history.
John Lawrence Atkinson writes with honesty, respect, and heart, reminding readers that America’s story is not only found in presidents, wars, and laws. It is also found in family Bibles, old photographs, church pews, classrooms, fields, factories, front porches, songs, letters, marches, and memories passed from one generation to the next.…

When Goldsboro falls under a mysterious spell of silence, two unlikely heroes rise from the shadows.
JT Hollywood and JW Extraordinaire are no ordinary Shih Tzus. Dressed in fedora hats and courage, they follow glowing pawprints through haunted theaters, vanished streetlights, forgotten roads, ghost trains, hidden ledgers, and secrets buried beneath the city itself.
But the deeper they go, the more they discover that some crimes do not steal money or jewels. Some steal names. Some erase memories. Some hide the truth until a whole city forgets who it is.
With magic in their hearts and loyalty in their paws, JT and JW must face shadows, curses, and a villain determined to rewrite Goldsboro’s story forever.
Because where there’s crime, they will stop it.

Goldsboro Remembered is a heartfelt journey through the people, places, faith, and stories that shaped Goldsboro, North Carolina. From the land before the city to the railroad that changed everything, from the Civil War and Reconstruction to segregation, integration, and modern growth, this book honors the history that lives in the streets, churches, schools, neighborhoods, and families of Goldsboro.
Written by John Lawrence Atkinson, this local history tribute remembers the elders who carried the stories, the teachers who shaped young minds, the churches that held communities together, the workers and business owners who served the people, and the quiet heroes whose names may not appear in history books but whose impact still lives on.…

The Weight of Gold and Grief
By John Lawrence Atkinson
Success can make you wealthy—but it cannot protect you from heartbreak.
The Weight of Gold and Grief is a powerful and emotionally gripping novel about ambition, love, sacrifice, and the hidden cost of chasing greatness. As fortunes are built and dreams become reality, unexpected loss forces one man to confront the truth that no amount of wealth can heal a broken heart.…

Some Letters Never Die
Some letters are written with ink.Others are written with tears.Some travel across cities.
Others travel across generations.Some arrive on time.
Others take years…even decades…to find the hands they were always meant to reach.
But a letter written in love is never truly lost.Truth may be delayed.
Hope may seem forgotten.Forgiveness may wait behind silence.
Yet love has a remarkable way of finding its destination.Thomas Gray believed every letter
deserved to be delivered.
Samuel Whitaker discovered that every person deserves to be remembered.
Together, they proved that the greatest deliveries are not measured by miles traveled or stamps
collected.
They are measured by lives restored…
Families reunited…Hearts healed…

As I write these final words, looking out at the North Carolina sky, I am struck by a
profound sense of completion. For 59 years, I have been a seeker—searching for a
sense of belonging, searching for a way to make sense of the heavy lifting of
caregiving, and searching for the courage to finally accept that I am worthy of the
life I now lead.
The journey has been long, often winding, and sometimes steep. But if this
manuscript has taught me anything, it is that there are no wasted miles. Every
chapter, from the honors-filled academic halls of my youth to the quiet, reflective
years in Goldsboro, was a step toward this moment. I have learned that the "Amen"
we seek at the end of our prayers is not an ending; it is a seal on the truth that we…

"Forty chapters," he said, gesturing vaguely to the quiet house behind them. "It felt like a
lifetime."
"It was a lifetime," she corrected, her hand finding his. "And it was enough."
The sun began its final descent, painting the clouds in shades of fire and violet. The Pacific
tide retreated, exposing the dark, salt-slicked rocks that had stood against the ocean for a
thousand years. The house was quiet, the garden was still, and for the first time in their lives,
there was no mission to fulfill, no legacy to secure, and no future to worry over.
There was only the present.
Alejandro squeezed her hand, a final, anchoring gesture. The story of The Gravity of Always
wasn't in the pages of the ledger anymore. It was in the air they breathed, in the peace of the…

The Caregiver’s Promise: Finding Strength When Love Demands Everything offers profound comfort, emotional validation, and spiritual guidance for anyone navigating the demanding journey of caring for a loved one. Written from a place of deep empathy and hard-earned wisdom, this book serves as a companion through the heaviest trials and a beacon of hope for the transition beyond.
Inside this guide, you will discover:
Spiritual Anchors: Finding God's grace, peace, and strength in everyday moments of exhaustion and doubt.
Emotional Resilience: Navigating grief, hyper-vigilance, and burnout while honoring your deepest commitments.…