Under a Desert Sky - (Paperback)

About the Book

With exquisite and vulnerable writing, cancer survivor Lynn Hartke shares her search for the answers to our hardest questions about life, death, and whether we can truly trust God.

Book Synopsis

There comes a time in life when we find ourselves in the desert place of burning questions. Why? Why me? But even as we shake our fist heavenward, the heart whispers another question. Who? Who are you, God? It is a question of relationship, a question we all murmur in the hardest places.

Against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, Lynne Hartke asks her own hard questions as cancer arrives like a thief with one goal: to take it all. Hair. The contents of a stomach. A marriage. A life. As her days become a blur of doctors' appointments, treatments, and surgeries, she wrestles with a tumble of tangled emotions, a shaken faith, and self-doubt. Cancer is now not only threatening her own life, but, in a surprising twist, the lives of both her parents as well.

Through her raw, lyrical words, Hartke invites fellow sojourners to discover that in life's hardest places, they are not alone in their fear, they are not foolish to hope, and they are never forgotten by a loving, pursuing God. Never.

From the Back Cover

Even life's most desolate experiences can bring beautiful surprises

There comes a time in life when we find ourselves in the desert place of burning questions: Why? and Why me? But even as we shake our fist heavenward, the heart whispers another question: Who? Who are you, God? Who are you to me?

Against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, Lynne Hartke asks her own hard questions as cancer arrives like a thief with one goal: to take it all. Hair. The contents of a stomach. A marriage. A life. As her days become a blur of doctors' appointments, treatments, and surgeries, she wrestles with a tumble of tangled emotions, a shaken faith, and crushing self-doubt. And then, the unthinkable. Cancer is now threatening not only her own life but also the lives of both her parents.

Through her raw, lyrical words, Hartke invites you to discover, as she did, that even in life's hardest places, you are not alone in your fear, you are not foolish to hope, and you are never forgotten by a loving, pursuing God. Never.


"Lynne eloquently captures the essence of receiving a diagnosis of cancer--the pain, the hurt, the awakening 'slap in the face'--and displays the true spirit of a fighter who will not let it overtake her, beat her, or force her to quit."--Alan S. Zaben, thirty-four-year, three-time cancer survivor; American Cancer Society Relay for Life 2014 "Hero of Hope"

"Lynne Hartke points the way for us across life's unmapped deserts, plunging down a trail of difficult questions where Jesus is the answer and eternity the final destination. She proves we can unearth God's beauty in the dust of our most intensely painful stories."--Kevin Johnson, bestselling author and executive coach


Lynne Hartke is a breast cancer survivor who celebrates the difficult and the beautiful with her husband, Kevin, in Arizona, where they have pastored a church for over thirty years. She blogs regularly at www.lynnehartke.com.

About the Author

Lynne Hartke is a breast cancer survivor who celebrates the difficult and the beautiful with her husband, Kevin, in Chandler, Arizona, where they have pastored a church for over thirty years. When not out on the desert trails avoiding rattlesnakes, Lynne is blogging, speaking and volunteering with several cancer organizations, and keeping up with their four grown children and three grandchildren. Lynne is currently training to hike from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the North Rim (a distance of 23 miles) in one day--because cancer taught her to grab onto life with both hands.