Thelma Nicholls was born into a poor family in Jamaica. Molested by her father, she developed an intense hatred for him, and left home as soon as she was old enough. After two failed relationships, two children born out of wedlock, and turning her back on God, she left Jamaica for New York City. There, she encountered many ups and downs. The most important “up” was finding her way back to God and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There, she met Robert Nicholls, who eventually became her husband. When leaving Jamaica, Thelma had left her two sons with her mother, who soon lost them to their biological father and his family. It took her more than a year after her marriage to Robert to complete the steps necessary to bring her boys to the United States. Blending them with the new baby boy and Robert’s daughter from a previous marriage wasn’t easy.

A move to Florida, going to nursing school, and excelling through the years to the completion of a PhD, and joining the United States Army in her mid-40s filled Thelma’s life with endless adventures. A tour of duty in Iraq brought on PTSD that even a stint in Hawaii couldn’t relieve. But through it all, her faith and trust in God remained steady.

Journey with Thelma as she rises above her humble beginnings to become a major as an army nurse, and finds peace, joy, and forgiveness along the way.