Janet Oberholtzer is a great sport. She agreed to be a test subject for me to learn how my new advertising network works (that’s her ad in my sidebar — have you seen it?). This week she agreed to let me try out my interviewing skills AND my recording skills — I’ve never recorded a Skype call before. She was a delight to speak with, and put up with my fumbling and difficulty looking at the camera instead of the picture of her on my screen (eek! When I watched the playback I saw how badly I need to work on that!).

In the interview (RSS and email readers, you’ll need to jump over to my site to view I think), we chatted about her new book, “Because I Can,” the spiritual journey that she’s been on, and the sudden turn it took after she was involved in a serious accident while on a family vacation in California.

While Janet’s story is very different from mine, the themes are very similar. I enjoyed reading her book because I recognized so many of the same questions, doubts, and struggles that she describes. I appreciated the candor with which she describes the challenges she and her family faced during her recovery: spiritual crisis, depression, communication in marriage, and chronic pain. She doesn’t gloss over the hard times or put pretty bows on top. Because of her honesty and openness, readers will find her an encouraging companion through their own hard times. You can purchase or download your copy of “Because I Can” here.

She will checking this post over the next couple of days, so if you have any questions for her, leave them in the comments. Also, Janet is generously offering a free copy of her book to one reader! Leave a comment to enter the giveaway by 9pm EST, January 30, 2012. If you’d like an extra entry, please share this post and then leave a comment for each place you shared it (e.g. Twitter, Facebook). We will select a winner at random and announce on Tuesday.