BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Staff Writer
Sara J. Hoffman shares her journey with family and God in her recently published book, “Joy in the Sorrow.”
Hoffman, a Clarkston resident, shares in her first book the story of what happened when her younger brother, Matthew Calmes, woke up and had a seizure at the age of 26 years old, and how his journey with brain cancer helped strengthen her relationship with God.
“In the midst of all of this, God made it so comforting,” Hoffman said. “It is a perfect story to give comfort and to show people He is right with us.”
She added it feels like perfect timing the book came out in 2020.

“I feel like that is the year a book like that would flourish over other years,” Hoffman said. “I feel like people are looking for it. Even if you didn’t lose a loved one, people are looking for hope and encouragement in the state of what we are in. Through my book I show so many signs of through either meeting people or the cardinal who comes to my house in unusual spots. God is present in our lives and we can rest in that hope. Even in the midst of the turmoil and political unrest and everything we have going on here in our country we can really rest in God is in control.
“Right now it’s a dark time for people in a certain way just with COVID, with the unknown and with what’s going on in our country,” she continued. “We can still rest that Matt’s story shows instead of getting wrapped up in our circumstances and focusing so much on those – there is a greater plan to this all. God is in control and we can focus on that. This story shows that. It’s to give us hope.”
Matt was diagnosed in 2006 and Hoffman said delayed writing the book. She was being a mom of three children, who are active in sports. She also felt she wasn’t equipped to write a book.
“I didn’t go after it as quick as I wanted,” she said.
She was in her bible study and they were studying “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren.
“In the study, Rick Warren talks about we are all here on Earth for a purpose,” Hoffman said. “I asked God what is something you really want me to do? He made it clear. He wanted me to write a book with all those happenings with Matt passing and through his illness there are so many connections of high school people who were put into our lives or the perfect timing of certain things like invitations.”
One of the invitations was from an acquaintance who invited Hoffman to ride with her to Chicago so she could visit Matt.
“It wasn’t even a close friend, but she knew my brother was going downhill.I hesitated,” Hoffman said. “I ended up taking her up on it because he went downhill. It landed me there for his death. It landed me there naturally. Nobody told me to come. It landed me to be there and present and right there when he died.”
She explained there’s a lot of those kinds of incidents in “Joy in the Sorrow” while showing how God uses people, nature, and signs to give hope, comfort, and joy in the midst of sorrow.
The book was released right before Christmans and is currently available at Clarkston Family Farm, which reopens February 12.
“Joy in the Sorrow” is also available on Amazon in paperback or for Kindle.