Lemons on Friday

Trusting God Through My Greatest Heartbreak

By: Mattie Jackson Selecman

Narrated by: Mattie Selecman

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

This audiobook edition is read by the author and includes the song “Racing the Dark” performed by Alan Jackson and cowritten with his daughter Mattie Jackson Selecman. 

After being married for less than a year, country music legend Alan Jackson’s daughter Mattie was faced with navigating a future that didn’t include her young husband and their lifelong plans.

Ben Selecman passed away 12 days after a traumatic brain injury - and three weeks before celebrating his first anniversary with his wife. Twenty-eight-year-old Mattie had to find a way to move forward and reconcile herself with a good God, even when he did not give her the healing miracle she prayed for. 

In Lemons on Friday, you will walk with Mattie Jackson Selecman during the first years of grief following Ben’s tragic death as she grapples with her loss and leans on a steadfast God. Based on Selecman’s journal writings, Lemons on Friday will speak to all listeners who must carry on without their loved ones and take a hard look at faith when their lives have not gone as planned.

Lemons on Friday grapples with questions like these:

• How did I get here?
• Will this always hurt?
• Who am I now?
• How do I move forward?

“When fundamental parts of our lives are lost, when people and things we thought we’d never lose are suddenly gone, it’s natural to want answers,” writes Selecman. “Why did this happen? Who’s to blame? What could I have done differently? And for many of us in the aftermath of life-shattering change, we also want to know, where is God? Not just where was He when the tragedy happened, but where is He now in my darkest days of hurt, wondering, and longing for comfort? When I am on the floor, writhing in tears with no idea what the rest of my life will look like, where is God?” 

Lemons on Friday offers insight and peace for anyone grieving, but especially for young people experiencing loss and facing a future that feels full of question marks.

©2021 Mattie Jackson Selecman (P)2021 Thomas Nelson

Critic Reviews

"'When a tea bag gets steeped in hot water, the true content and nature of what's inside the bag, whether sweet or bitter, is revealed. The same is true of people when their lives become steeped in unexpected sorrow and loss. I will never forget how the sweet aroma of Christ, even and especially through honest yet noncynical, humble tears, came out of Mattie when she lost her beloved husband, Ben. I am thankful that she has gone more public with her story, so that others can see in it the goodness of God in times when they need him most." (Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church and author of Jesus Outside the Lines and A Gentle Answer)

 

"Mattie's story carries you through a valley of unbearable heartbreak, and in the very next moment you are experiencing an ocean of peace that is the heartbeat of Jesus. Her honesty and vulnerability in this book are a beacon of light to any heart that has experienced total darkness. The courage and wisdom expressed through her words will inspire hope in readers, no matter their walk of life." (Lauren Akins, author of the New York Times best seller Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life's Changes)

"There is a sisterhood among all of us who have been widowed at far too young of an age. That's where our story intersected with Mattie's. She's wonderful, witty, and wise beyond her years. In Lemons on Friday she takes us all on a journey that is less about making lemonade out of lemons and more about looking to faith for transformational healing. Her story of loss, with hope, reminds us that partnering with Christ can turn the bitter sorrows of life into something far sweeter than we could ever accomplish on our own." (Rachel Brown and Ginger Ravella, founders, Be Still Ministries and Never Alone Widows Retreats) 

Absolutely LOVE this story of hope and healing!

I love this story of hope and healing in the midst of darkness. As someone who is on this journey I do appreciate Mattie’s desire to seek the Lord for that healing. I can’t imagine doing this without HIM and I love the encouragement given in the lines of the amazing testimony. Praise God He takes our hand and walks with us. I highly recommend this read. Thank you, Mattie for sharing!

Healing after Tragedy

We lost our son 2 years ago and trying to put the pieces back together has been almost impossible. This book has provided such healing and peace for me. I bought a copy and gifted it to my oldest daughter as well. Thank you Mattie for being brave enough to listen to the Lords calling. I can’t thank you enough for this blessing.

Great book

Great read, I love her biblical references throughout. Great spiritual guide to death and grieving.

This book really spoke to me!

This book will bless many people who are going thru a season of loss. I am glad I chose the audible version so I could hear the author, Mattie, share her testimony. She supports everything she shares with scripture. I will be sharing this book with others!

Beautifully written

Such a brave act to be so raw and open about her own life and feelings. I absolutely felt uplifted amidst a story of struggle. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to restore hope in their life.

Great book for young widows

I am a new widow and younger as well. It’s a challenge as a young widow to feel related too as most widows are older in age and lived a life with their partner. It is a different kind of loss to be a young widow and loose the hope of creating the life you dreamt of with a partner for years and never get to see that come to fruition. This book allowed me to feel validated in so many ways. I listened through this book pretty quickly because I felt so related too and would recommend this to any young female widow. Thank you Mattie for writing this.

Beautiful

Beautifully said I really enjoyed it. I was 22when I lost my first love and my heart was broken it’s been 28 years later and I talk to him every day and I know he’s still with me and he still to this day let’s me know he’s here. The day he died that night I saw him and he kissed me cheek and told me he loved me and he will see me when I come home. We never understand why they have to be called home early we just have to do our best my living our lives God loves us and he made us strong and I had to lean on him and trust him and I have been blessed

Heartfelt and Healing

My father recently passed away in late fall of 2022. He lived with me for the past 15 years until he turned 85. After his burial, I stumbled upon this audiobook by chance.

The author, Maddie’s, transparency and straightforward confessions of her thoughts and feelings about he spouse, Ben’s, demise and death gripped me from beginning to end in no time.

Maddie’s voice and words were not soothing per say, but instead, honest, relatable, and comforting to my soul who had lost her way.

Thank you, Maddie. I could feel my heart healing through your words.

Most of all, thank you for pointing me back to our Lord Jesus Christ who is my Redeemer, Comforter and Friend from now and forevermore.

So good and God glorifying

This book is so good. I feel so blessed to have discovered Mattie in the Live in Love Podcast over a year ago. I have wanted to read this book since she announced it. So glad I finally got to listen! Thank you for being so real, honest, and vulnerable.

Excellent book that addresses loss of dreams!

I enjoyed listening to the book and I am planning on recommending it to friends that have suffered loss.