Yazoo City native Kenneth Westbrook has published a novel titled Set Free by the Sea.
Westbrook was born in Yazoo City in 1942. He grew up and was baptized as a member of Center Ridge Baptist Church. His father owned and operated Westbrook Garage. After graduating from Yazoo City High School in 1961, he went on to attend Mississippi College and New Orleans Seminary.
Westbrook served as a staff member of the First Baptist Church of Greenville. After that, he moved to Florida and served at four different churches before taking a job with the Florida Baptist Convention for over 11 years. Now currently retired, Westbrook has turned his talents to writing.
Westbrook's most recently published novel, Set Free by the Sea, was inspired by the story of a man who was severely burned, became addicted to opioid drugs, struggled for years, and eventually overcame his challenges.
The story is about Luke, a young man who is mysteriously placed in Baker County, Florida as a foster child in the middle of his Junior year in high school. Upon graduation, he marries a local girl, becomes a truck driver, buys a semi-truck and sets a goal of becoming wealthy. His mysterious background plagues his relationship with his wife and her family. He is accidentally burned, goes to a burn center in Gainesville, Florida and in the process becomes addicted to prescription drugs which causes him to lose his truck business and his family, and puts him on the streets of Jacksonville as a homeless person. A person from his mysterious past urges him to find help at a very unusual church, Set Free by the Sea, and there he faces some of the toughest choices of his life.
The novel is thoroughly Christian in character and impact. It offers inspiration and hope to anyone dealing with any kind of drug addiction.
The book is now available in paperback on Amazon.com and as an eBook on Kindle.
