When I Lost Me
Selah Award Finalist – 2023
The debut novel that opened the door to stories of faith, healing, and identity.
Catherine O’Hall is done. Disillusioned with God after a heartbreaking battle with infertility, she flees the remnants of her life in Sicily and heads to the rugged Wild Coast of South Africa. She doesn’t go in search of healing—she dares God to find her.
Meanwhile, on a remote farm where the Ngqusi and Inxaxo rivers meet, Rebecca and Nathaniel Allwood have built their lives around a mission of compassion and justice. But the past has its own roots, and when a mysterious threat unsettles the land, Becs is forced to confront a painful truth about how her family came to own property surrounded by tribal land.
When Catherine arrives, two worlds collide—and long-buried secrets rise to the surface. In the unraveling, God begins to rebuild. When I Lost Me is a story of identity, loss, legacy, and the relentless grace that finds us in our most broken places.
“I read a lot of Christian fiction but I was deeply touched and unusually impacted by ‘When I lost me’. I was able to relate to the characters and they quickly became a part of my inner world. The fast-paced plot, thought-provoking relationships and interactions had me turning the pages quickly. I devoured it in a few days and rate it the best book I have read in 2022.”
- Michelle Frost
Claire Lagerwall
Claire Lagerwall is a South African-born, Australian-based author whose fiction explores the sacred ground where grief meets grace and brokenness gives way to redemption. With lyrical prose and unflinching honesty, her stories are steeped in emotional depth and rooted in unwavering faith.