By Andrew Edwards
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
When Janice Stockman, Principal at Prattville Junior High School, is not roaming the halls and finding new, innovative ways to help better the area’s younger generation, she’s at home…writing books.
Well, a book, in particular.
Stockman, who has helped serve the Autauga County School System for the past 18 years, wrote her book “Underneath the Tapestry” back in 2014. The year was one unlike any other for Stockman, who deemed that period of time her “year of adventure.” It was an opportunity for Stockman to travel the country, skydive, and put her thoughts onto paper.
Essentially, that’s what her book consists of – 61 short lessons that help you, as the reader, see God in every day life. Stockman wrote for years on blog posts, and finally decided that she would like to see her perspective on life tied together, written down, and organized in a book format. Her love for writing stemmed from her grandmother, who was excellent at writing poetry, Stockman explained.
“I like to write and it’s really how I process things. I inherited a lot of that from her [her grandmother]. People started to keep up with the blog, so I had more and more people tell me that I should write a book,” Stockman said
Stockman explained that she was on the fence about sending the book somewhere to be reviewed, but ultimately a little push from a close friend convinced her to do so.
“She just kept telling me, ‘Send it in, send it in’ – so I finally did it,” Stockman laughed.
In the end, Stockman would decide to self-publish, all the while having help from editors, who helped review the text, and designers who crafted the front page of the book.
She landed on the name “Underneath the Tapestry,” – a title that has a story of its own.
“It’s about the story of a little girl, who was sitting on the floor next to her grandmother watching her work on an embroidery piece. She kept saying to her grandmother, ‘What are you making? It looks ugly,’” Stockman said. “The story goes on and the little girl keeps asking the same question before the grandmother finally tells her to come with her on the sofa. After she does, she realizes that her grandmother has made a beautiful picture.”
Stockman went on the explain how she interprets the story.
“The correlation for me is while we’re here on earth, things look a mess – and things look all tangled up. None of the colors seem to match. Eventually, one day, we’ll see the true picture of what that looks like from a different perspective. Sometimes when we’re walking through hard times, or get disappointed because things don’t work out, we’ve got to remember there’s a different perspective that we can’t see, creating a picture of our own life tapestry,” Stockman said.
All of her 61 short stories are based on real life experiences, and range from the smallest of experiences, such as seeing her sons Legos on the floor many years ago, to riding down the road and seeing trees without their leaves. Each story has a specific purpose, and its own unique tale to tell.
Stockman, a member of First Baptist Church in Prattville, says her faith and strong relationship with God was the driving force behind her stories.
“Faith is the constant that holds everything together. Life is full of mountains and valleys and it’s full of disappointments. But it’s also full of joy, and that faith is what gives me purpose,” Stockman said.
Since her book was published in 2014, those interested have had to chance to see the world through Stockman’s view. Recently, one of her close friends read her book, reached out to her, and shared the three stories that meant the most to her. It was a gesture that Stockman took to heart.
“When I hear things like that, it really makes it worth it. The truth is, we’re all in this together. There’re days that I need you and days that you need me. We can all connect in those kinds of ways, and help others on days that they are down,” Stockman said.
Seven years removed from Underneath the Tapestry, Stockman said that another book is already in the works – one that would revolve around being a principal.
“I really like writing. It’s an outlet for me and has just been a really fun experience all around,” Stockman smiled.
If you are interested in reading Stockman’s book, it is available for purchase in paperback, hardback, and for kindle on Amazon.
