Letters I Never Meant to Write
Title reveal and the story behind my new Screwtape-inspired book
A few summers ago, I fought a battle in my backyard.
It started with a pretty little vine twisting around my cornstalks. At first, I didn’t think much of it. The leaves were a soft green, the flowers delicate, heart-shaped, and white. But almost as soon as I noticed it, its tendrils covered the garden —choking out my tomatoes, suffocating the basil, creeping into every unguarded space.
I spent an afternoon tearing it up by the roots, but a week later, it was back, just as strong. That’s when I learned its name: bellbind. A weed that looks harmless, even beautiful, but is nearly impossible to kill.
I didn’t know then how much this little battle in my garden would teach me about the battle for virtue.
There are things that creep into our hearts, too. Small annoyances that take root as resentment. Little indulgences that grow into habits. Worries that wrap themselves around our peace, strangling it bit by bit.
Most of the time, we don’t even notice it happening. Not until we find ourselves snapping at our children or lying awake at night, hearts tangled in anxious knots.
The devil doesn’t come crashing in like a storm; he slinks in like a vine. And before we know it, we’re wrapped in something we never meant to invite in.
That’s why I wrote The Bellbind Letters: Inside the Devil’s Plan for Your Motherhood.
And that, friends, is the title of my next book.
If you’ve read The Screwtape Letters, you’ll recognize the form: a series of letters written from one tempter to another. But this one is set in the thick of modern motherhood. The senior tempter—still unnamed*—is coaching his understudy, Bellbind, on how to sabotage the soul of a mother.
Fortunately (or not), I didn’t need diabolical insight to generate the content of these letters. Yes, we are all entrenched in a spiritual battle, but the brilliance of C.S. Lewis’s original work didn’t stem from intimate knowledge of spiritual warfare. Rather, Lewis was a keen observer of the human psyche.
In The Bellbind Letters, I attempt to imitate not only his sinister tone, but also his detailed descriptions of the nature of temptation and how it worms its way into our hearts and minds.
It has been quite the examination of conscience.
What began as a simple promo-letter for my local women’s conference some years ago has grown into a book full of letters detailing the specific ways in which Satan attacks a woman’s soul.
But make no mistake — this isn’t a book merely about evil. As in the original Screwtape Letters, a demonic perspective helps us to adjust our focus. When we see the utter disdain Satan has for all that is holy — especially motherhood — we begin to recognize just how glorious a vocation it is.
Whether you fasted and sacrificed dutifully these last forty days or, like me, failed utterly at Lent this year (a story for another time), I invite you to pencil in Bellbind for an examination of conscience upon the book’s release next spring!
AMDG,
Samantha
*P.S. If you have a clever name for a demon, share it in the comments! It might just makes its way into the final book.
AUTHOR UPDATES
Whether you’ve followed me through Mama Prays, Brave New Us, or simply through these author updates —I’m so glad you’re here.
A while ago, I told my spiritual director that all I really wanted was to write books and homeschool my kids. That’s still true.
As much as I’ve loved podcasting, researching, interviewing guests, and sending newsletters on everything from motherhood to bioethics—I’ve come to see it’s time to choose depth over breadth (and maybe the occasional garden tour).
So I’ve paused all subscriptions to my other newsletters and will be sending updates only from here, the author list. Just occasional notes, a few times a season. I hope they bring something beautiful to your inbox—and I pray they point to the One who is greater.
Thank you for continuing to read, and for walking with me. God willing, there are many more projects to come—and I hope you’ll be both intrigued and delighted by what’s ahead.
Books: Mama Prays | Reclaiming Motherhood from a Culture Gone Mad
Web: www.snstephenson.com