Heaven's First Breath is officially here.

This is one of the most personal kinds of fiction I have written—not because Frank and Marlene are real people, but because the emotional world around them is one I have lived beside for decades.

Serious illness changes a family. It changes roles, conversations, plans, bodies, faith, and the way ordinary days feel.

But illness never tells the whole truth about a person.

Frank is more than ALS. Marlene is more than a caregiver. Their children are more than their different coping styles. Hospice is more than a service that enters near the end. And death, though real, is not the only thing happening in the room.

The book asks a question that has followed me through years of pastoral care: How do we keep living when we cannot change the outcome?

The answer is not simple. But the story keeps returning to love, dignity, help, humor, faith, presence, and the ordinary human acts that make life feel like life.

If you read Heaven's First Breath, I hope you come away thinking: I hope I never have to do this—but I know it is possible.

Heaven's First Breath is available now in Kindle and paperback.

[VERIFIED PRIMARY BUY LINK]

Thank you for reading,
Brent

When I returned to Sunset’s Dawn after more than a decade, I knew the book needed rebuilding.

Some things had to change. The writing needed to be stronger. The structure needed to be cleaner. The world of Sunset had grown around the original story, and the reboot had to honor what the series has become.

But I also discovered something that mattered deeply to me: The heart of the story had survived.

Jake was still a man learning that new love does not erase old love. Jennifer was still a woman strong enough to love without pretending life had not hurt her. Sunset was still a place where grief, humor, community, faith, and second chances could belong in the same story.

That was the part worth rebuilding.

A reboot is not just a chance to modernize a book. At its best, it is a chance to ask what was always true underneath the first version.

For Sunset’s Dawn, what survived was the emotional truth: healing is not forgetting. Love is not replacement. And sometimes the road into the future curves through the very losses we thought would keep us from moving forward.

The revised edition available now!

• Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKGVC5T7

• Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HKDZLTSB

Sunset is coming back.

Thirteen years ago, I started writing about a fictional little Texas town called Sunset. At the time, I thought I was telling the story of Jake Jennings and Jennifer Lawson: a widowed hospice chaplain trying to build a quieter life, and a nurse whose life was already full of children, patients, history, and more complications than either of them needed.

I did not know I was building a place I would eventually want to return to.

For years, I resisted going back. There were some health challenges in my family that made the whole process too emotional and draining. The original Sunset books belonged to an earlier season of my writing. I have changed. My voice has changed. My understanding of grief, hospice, love, faith, trauma, and the way people actually carry one another through hard seasons has deepened. And, honestly, I’m a much better writer than the guy who wrote a Christian romance book having never read a romance novel before.

Then Heaven’s First Breath happened.

What started as a “case study” for another book took on a life of its own. What came out of it is a compelling story in its own right.

Writing Frank and Marlene Abbott’s story brought me back into Sunset from a different direction. The town was still there. So were Jake, Jennifer, Sarah, Roger, Ellen, and the people who had once felt finished to me.

They were not finished.

And neither were the books.

So I have gone back to the beginning.

Sunset’s Dawn is being rebuilt. While it received a lot of positive comments, it was not well written. What I’m working on now isn’t simply a cleaned up or rewrapped book. It’s rewritten with the voice, emotional restraint, pastoral depth, and understanding of human relationships I have gained in the thirteen years since the original appeared.

Sarah’s Prayer is being rebuilt too. Sunset’s Hope is next. And Heaven’s First Breath will open another doorway into this world through the Abbott family and Sunset Hospice.

I discovered that returning to an old story is not the same as going backward.

Sometimes you return because you finally became the writer the story was waiting for.

That is what this season feels like to me.

This fall, readers will be able to return to Sunset.

And if you have never been there before, I cannot wait to introduce you.

Some goodbyes are not the end of love. They are where love learns to breathe differently.

Frank Abbott has always been the husband, father, and friend others could depend on. But when ALS begins taking away his strength, his independence, and eventually the ease of every breath, Frank and his wife, Marlene, must learn a different way to live.

As their adult children return home carrying fears of their own, old tensions rise alongside new questions: How do you help someone you love without taking away the choices that remain? How do you remain present when nothing can make the situation better? And how do you say goodbye to a life you are not ready to release?

Chaplain Jake and the hospice team cannot change what is coming. They can only help the Abbotts face it together with honesty, humor, tenderness, and room for grace.

Through it all, Frank holds tightly to the memory of a cold Montana morning when one deep breath felt like a glimpse of heaven, and to the hope that his first breath there will be even better.

Set in Sunset, Texas, Heaven’s First Breath is an emotionally honest and ultimately hopeful novel about marriage, family, faith, hospice, and the courage to remain present when love can no longer fix what hurts.

Although connected to the Sunset series, Heaven’s First Breath can be read as a complete standalone story.

Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 61

The girls invited Don and Eileen’s friends to the house for a farewell party to send Don off to Colorado in high hopes and spirits. They considered the hospice team to be more than friends, almost part of the family. As a part of the celebration, Don asked Jake to say a blessing for this transition in his life. Jake, of course, was honored to be asked.

“Let’s gather around Don as I say a blessing for him and for the family. We want to be in support of them as Don makes this important move. Hold the hand of the person next to you.”

Jen was strategically standing next to Jake.

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 58

Don Janicek returned from his visit to Colorado with a revived spirit and apparently refreshed body as well. He called to request an appointment with Jake as soon as he got into town. Jake, of course, obliged. The two men met at the Sunset Diner for their traditional breakfast meeting.

“Good morning, Jake.” Don beat Jake to the Diner and was almost finished with his first cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Don. You’re certainly looking good. It looks like your trip to Colorado helped you a lot.”

“Yes, it did. Thank you for suggesting it. I enjoyed being with my brother and his family. It’s a good place to live and woodworking agrees with me. He wants me to move up there as soon as I’m ready to go.”

“Well, Don. It sounds like you are ready to make the change.”

“You know, Jake. I think I am. I felt better up there with my brother than I’ve felt in a long time. I know this is the right thing.”

Jake wished he were able to become so confident so quickly. “I’m happy for you, Don. How do the girls feel about it?”

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 55

To a married couple with young children, time alone together is a precious commodity. To Jen, who is a single mother in a relationship, finding time alone with her beloved Jake was worth more than gold... if she had any. They both scheduled Friday off so they could go grocery shopping together and have some time on the gun range that afternoon. That was about as romantic as the week was going to get. On the upside, they were growing so close that opening negotiations on the subject of ‘happily ever after’ commitment were beginning to come up from time to time, thrilling Jen to no end.

Somewhere along the peanut butter aisle, Jake surprisingly played the opening gambit. “You know, if we were to be together, it would mean a big change for the three of you.”

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 52

After church on Sunday, Jake decided to drive into Belton to shop at a recently opened mega-food store to shop for his special dinner with Jen. He could have purchased reasonably decent items at the S-Mart in Sunset, but the variety at a mega-store was much better and the drive would help him gather his thoughts for the “big talk.”

Jake kept himself busy that afternoon preparing his favorite meal: cedar planked salmon, roasted asparagus, and watermelon, feta, and balsamic salad. This was going to be an inspired meal for Jen even if the “big talk” fell flat.

Jake waited until Jen arrived to put the salmon and asparagus on the grill. He would take no chances with timing this wrong. She drove up to the cabin right on time having used her personal gate code. When she stepped out of her car Jake immediately noticed a difference in her.

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 50

Jake, Jen, and the boys arrived at the House of Chan on the Southwest side of Waco within about fifteen minutes of Jake’s call. Frank Chan Jr., the proprietor of the restaurant that his father opened over forty years ago, was greeting other guests but waiting for their arrival. “Mr. Jacob Jennings, we are honored that you have come this evening and brought guests. You bless us with your presence. Please come in.” Frank had four menus in his hand already and escorted the party to a table in a somewhat secluded area of the restaurant.

Jen knew she was tired and had been through a physically and emotionally trying day, but she thought she saw some of the employees stop and look at Jake as they passed by. It may have been her imagination, but one or two of the women may have even bowed slightly as they walked to the table. It wasn’t her imagination that something was going on here that she didn’t quite understand.

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 47

The message went out Friday morning that Virginia Evans, the patient who lived in the small trailer, had declined rapidly and was placed in a “hospice room” in Marlboro Medical Center. The hospital had donated two unused rooms to Sunset hospice to use for general inpatient placement. These rooms were used for symptom management that couldn’t be performed in a home. Virginia was just such a case. Jake visited Virginia as soon as she settled in. The rooms had been beautifully furnished and decorated by the hospice volunteers and had a small refrigerator stocked with water and drinks for family members along with snacks and magazines.

Virginia was blissfully ensconced in the hospital bed. “Hi Cha-pin Jake. You came to see me.”

“Yes I did, Virginia. How are you feeling?”

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 42

Jake stopped off at the office late Monday afternoon to drop off paperwork and to check in with the Family Support Team on some patient issues that were on everyone’s mind. He pulled in the parking lot ahead of Becca Blinn, whose car was obviously having difficulty. When her car finally gasped to a stop, Becca got out, in a seriously bad mood, a mood Jake had never seen associated with this particular CNA.

“Becca, not so good in the automobile department, looks like. I’m sure this heat isn’t doing your car any favors either.”

“No, this piece of junk is about shot. I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s beyond repair and I can’t afford anything for a few more months.”

Jake had a thought brewing. “Becca, if you’d like, you can borrow my car for a week or so until you can figure out what you’re going to do. I’ve got a truck I can use until then.”

“Oh, Jake. I can’t put you out like that.”

“Becca, as nice and wonderful as you are, it would bless me to help you like that. It would be my pleasure.”

“Seriously? Well, Jake Jennings, you are a kind man.”

“Thank you. Just reinforce that with Jen when you have a chance. I kind of blow it from time to time and need all the help I can get.”

“Oh, Jake. I’ll let you in on a little secret. You score more brownie points with Jen than she will ever let on.”

That’s nice to know. “Thanks, Becca. Let’s tell Janet you’re driving my car for insurance purposes. Since we’re meeting Jen and the boys at The Clown for supper you can drop me off at my place after that.”

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Jake. You’re da’ bomb!”

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 37

“I will choke the living daylights out of you Stephen Merrill Lawson.” Jennifer threw the papers and envelope down on the countertop in frustration. “I can’t believe he would pull a stunt like this.”

Becca came running to the kitchen to see what the fuss was about. “What’s wrong, Jen?”

“Steve didn’t pay the mortgage last month or the month before like he was supposed to in the divorce decree, the jerk.”

“What do we do?”

“It’s not your problem, Becca. It’s mine.” Jen ran her hands through her hair while she thought through her very limited options and pondered her even more limited finances.

“I know, but I live here too. Maybe I can help.”

“No, I’ll figure something out. I always do.”

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 30

The events of the night and the exhaustion that Jake felt, both physical and emotional, caused him to skip worship and opt for personal meditation and lots of sleep that Sunday morning. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Jen said to him as she drove away. How far does she want this ‘relationship’ to go? This is going too far too fast! The strain of Eileen’s death added to the turmoil in his mind and heart over one simple kiss and comment from Jen.

He received a call from triage on Sunday afternoon saying that Don Janicek wanted him to call.

“Don, this is Jake.”

“Thanks for calling, Jake. I need to ask a favor of you.”

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 29

Jake was roused from his most blissful sleep in ages by his cell phone.

“Jake, this is Roger. You awake, buddy?”

“Uh, no. I mean, I guess. What’s up? What time is it?”

“Sorry to bother you, but it’s eleven forty-five. I know you’re not on call, but one of your patients, Eileen Janicek has taken a dive and you said you wanted to be called even if you weren’t on. Do you want to take this one or do you want me to go ahead and go?”

“Oh, Roger, dude. Thanks for calling me. Yeah, I really need to go on this one.”

“Okay. Concho is on his way to be with her. Since they have a house full of family, triage says we need chaplain and social worker, so Sarah is already on her way. I know this is a tough one, so I’m praying for all of you.”

“Thanks, dude. Get some sleep.” Jake launched out of bed and dressed as quickly and efficiently as he could. He called Sarah on his way out of the gate to let her know he was on the way and would be there in about twenty-five minutes.

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 27

The rest of the week seemed to drag on forever yet highlighted with quick interactions with Jen and excited outbursts from various team members who heard about the “big date.” Sarah seemed cold and distant to Jake at the team meeting on Thursday. He was beginning to understand why but didn’t know what to do about it. It was new territory for him, and he learned a long time ago that relationships were a topic that one didn’t discuss in the office.

Preparing for the event was a bit more involved than a basic dinner date. Jake had plans. Phone calls had to be made and schedules coordinated. He wanted this to be perfect.

On Friday evening Jake rolled up to Jen’s address in his predictably early manner. He’d waited around the corner for ten minutes waiting for the right moment to drive up. He walked up the porch of the relatively modern two-story Victorian style house and rang the doorbell expecting the boys to come running to answer it. They didn’t.

Less than a minute later Jen opened the door to reveal a picture of loveliness that outdid anything he had seen of her before. He could barely speak. The green satin outfit she wore was a profound contrast to the usual medical scrubs or blue jeans Jake had grown accustomed to. Jen was simply stunning.

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Parts 1-4 are a preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

Chapter 23

Jake arranged to meet Dallas Thompson on Thursday morning since that was a day that no one else from hospice would be visiting and Dallas would have more energy for other things. He arrived at the beautifully landscaped and manicured property in East Milam County to visit Dallas, not knowing exactly what kind of reception he would get. Mrs. Thompson answered the door of the double-wide mobile home and graciously but cautiously welcomed Jake in.

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Parts 1-4 are a free preview. Parts 5-23 are available as they are published to PLM+ members. CLICK HERE for more information.

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