Ericka Andersen - Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected from the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma, and Mental Illness

CONTENTS

E ricka Andersen is a freelance writer who also serves as the digital marketing director at the Independent Womens Forum and as a consultant for The Steamboat Institute. She previously wrote for and was the digital director at National Review magazine. Before that, Ericka was the digital manager at the Heritage Foundation and worked in communications for Vice President Mike Pence at the GOP conference. She attended Indiana University. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband and children.

2018 Ericka Sylvester

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Epub Edition May 2018 9781400208289

ISBN 978-1-4002-0827-2 (HC)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018932502

Printed in the United States of America

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I have always known God was in the redemption business, but reading about the miraculous healing in Rick Sylvesters life confirmed it once more. Ericka Andersens graceful deep dive into her husbands traumatic life story is a heartbreaking account but reveals the hand of God watching over us in even the darkest of times.

When I started pastoring National Community Church two decades ago, I had no idea the way God would use this ministry to impact the lives of the most broken among us. Ericka and Rick attended NCC for a number of years when they lived in Washington, DC, but I didnt know that our church was the first church Rick had set foot in for over a decadeor that my book The Circle Maker would be part of his redemption story. Im incredibly grateful, but not surprised, because God works in strange and mysterious ways!

While Ricks life was shaped by a multitude of painful factors as a childfrom his fathers abandonment to his mothers addictionsEricka writes of that cast of characters through a graceful lens, never letting readers forget that every person is a beloved child of God. And no one is without hope if they build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

The books focus on the power of prayer is compelling, and I know from personal experience, that its the key to transformation. Prayer was the catalyst in Ricks life, even in the midst of his struggles. As he dealt with depression, anxiety, and other disturbing effects from his childhood, he discovered only one thing that felt like solid groundand that was faith. It took faith to continue going back to prayer, time and again, even as he stumbled. This book showcases how God is fighting for us, even when we dont realize itand that He honors bold prayers.

Ricks persistence and faith led him to the transformational healing that truly broke the chains of his past. This book so beautifully demonstrates the tangible presence of God as our Father, even when our earthly parents fail us. It shows the power of how God uses individuals to work in the lives of their loved ones. And it leaves no doubt as to the signs of the Father weaving together a life story in which His overwhelming love would prevail.

I believe everyone can benefit from reading this book, a story that reveals Gods ability to restore, renew, and replenishnot to mention fulfill ones wildest dreams. Ricks dreams were simple: happiness, love, family. Hes living them out each day by the grace of God, and thats a hope everyone can believe in.

Mark Batterson

New York Times bestselling author of

The Circle Maker

Lead Pastor of National Community Church

M y husband, Rick, is chasing our eighteen-month-old around the staircase in our recently purchased two-story house in the suburbs of Indianapolis. Im upstairs working but keep hearing incessant bursts of laughter from our son, who squeals in delight every time his dad rounds another corner to surprise himeven though he knows perfectly well that his dad has been there all along.

Rick is also cracking up with every belly laugh Jacob lets out. Baby laughsarent they the quintessential expression of joy? The worst day of your life could be improved by a hearty belly laugh from a baby who doesnt know any better. A baby the harshness of the worlds edges havent yet cornered, for whom everything can be made better with hugs and warm milkor Puffs cereal and a cartoon on the iPad.

If there were any baby pictures to compare, no doubt people would mistake our son and Rick for twins. The golden-blond hair, the lake-blue eyes, the round grin, the face as friendly and sweet as a baby koalas. They are both excessively cute, one of those father-son pairs young moms gush over when the two are grocery shopping together or playing at the park.

Jacob is the smiliest of all toddlers, quick to practice his waving skillsa tiny wrist flipping up and down and up and downand winces away in faux embarrassment when a delighted stranger waves back with a winking reply. He ducks his head into a parental shoulder for a moment before whipping back around to charm his new friends at Walmart or Target. I am biased, of course, but I have a hunch this one rates high on the universal scale of adorableness.

And RickRick is the wonderful costar of our little world. A loving husband, a fantastic father, a good provider, and a lot of fun. If you met him at the park or at church, you would probably never guess that his own start in life was completely different from that of our well-loved, carefully nurtured one. He is determined to ensure Jacobs childhood is the opposite of his own. By all accounts, my husband should be one of the lost ones, a child of Americas forgotten underbelly, destined to inflict the pain and dysfunction of his upbringing onto the next generation. The generational curse ended with him, though. Only by Gods grace is he breaking that cycle. Only by grace and his own resilience is he the man Im raising my children with.