Read Along: Chapters 13-19

Dive deeper into 'Tiger in a Lifeboat'

May 23, 2026

Themes in chapters 13-19: Victim vs Hero // Worth the gamble // Not belonging here, not belonging there // Memento mori // I deserve to be here. // If you take two steps…

Two women living with leprosy hear scripture in their heart language via their audio Bible.

⚔️ Victim vs Hero

Out of the whole book, this section received the most time and attention from my publisher, my editor, and myself.

Every sentence was carefully weighed, every word intentionally placed. Why? Because encouraging someone to move from a place of victimhood to ownership is one of the most delicate, sacred tasks a writer can take on.

My deepest hope was to make this good news for someone suffering—not another burden, not another thing they “should” do, but an invitation into their own strength, their own story. I wanted this passage to affirm agency and rally someone toward their next chapter without diminishing their pain or invalidating their experience.

It would have been far easier to avoid saying this at all. To let the moment pass without the challenge, to simply sit in the hurt and offer comfort alone. But love—real love—doesn’t leave us where it finds us. It doesn’t rush us, but it also refuses to let us believe we are powerless.

This section holds both truths:
Yes, you have been deeply wounded.
And yes, you have power.

I agonized over how to say this in a way that would honor the pain and also honor the person experiencing it. That would acknowledge the weight of suffering while also refusing to let it be the final word. If I got it right, this passage should feel like someone sitting beside you, recognizing your hurt, weeping over it with you, then gently but firmly reminding you that you are not just a passive character in your own story.

You are who you’ve been waiting for.

This is what I needed to hear when I was in the depths of it. It’s what I still need to hear sometimes. And it’s what I offer now, with all the care and love in the world, to those who need it too.

Helping recipients navigate their new audio Bibles.

📸 Gallery

*A fruit vendor takes time to sit and enjoy a chai.*

*A man sells samosas in a crowded city intersection.*

*A woman living in a leprosy community sweeps outside her front door.*

*An Islamic banner drapes over a market street near the Charminar in Hyderabad.*

*Marigold petals on Mother Theresa’s tomb.*

*A street dog walks over decorative chalk designs on a street in a leprosy community.*

🪔 Dig Deeper

🥘 This Indian ad gives a fun (albeit stylized) glimpse into an Indian meal. Don’t miss the banana leaf plates. 🍃

❤️‍🩹 Each purchase of Tiger in a Lifeboat helps support the disenfranchised communities living with leprosy I mentioned. Let me know if you’d like to support them further.

💬 Discussion Questions

Below are some questions and prompts related to the themes present in these chapters. Answer or elaborate on any, all, or none in the comments below:

I’d like to hear your thoughts about the victim vs. hero tension.
Tell me a moment when you gambled on the good of another person, and it was worth it.
There’s a tension that grows throughout this book as I realize that I don’t belong in the American evangelical church, but I don’t feel like I belong in the non-Christian/agnostic world either. Do you feel this tension, too?
Memento mori: remember, you have to die. How does this make you feel?
Have you found it true that if you take two steps toward God, God runs to you? What were those two steps for you? What does God running to you look like?

Discussion about this post

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