The Year I Chose Faith Over Familiar

Reflections on Community, Courage, and the Power of Stories

As the year closes, I am not measuring it by profit margins or polished timelines. I am measuring it by courage.

This was the year I chose faith over familiarity. The year I stepped away from what was known and respected, and leaned fully into what was whispered in my spirit for far too long. Opening Beyond the Book: A Literary Experience was not simply about launching a bookstore, it was about answering a call to create space. Space for reflection. Space for dialogue. Space for voices that too often go unheard. In a world that rewards speed, I chose stillness.In a culture driven by noise, I chose listening.In a season where certainty felt safer, I chose purpose.

Building a community-based bookstore reminded me that people are hungry for more than transactions. They are hungry for connection. They want places where stories are exchanged alongside ideas, where generations gather, where strangers become neighbors, and where literature is not elitist, but invitational.

There were moments of fear. Moments when stepping out on faith felt lonely. Moments when I questioned whether passion was enough. But then came the reminders: a child discovering a book that reflected their life for the first time; an author sharing their truth aloud; a quiet reader finding refuge in a chair by the shelves.

This year taught me that when you build from the heart, the community responds in kind.

As we prepare to enter a new year, I am carrying forward this truth: purpose is not found in comfort, it is revealed through courage. And when we honor our calling, we give others permission to honor theirs.

Read. Connect. Grow. 

Dr. Tenia L. Davis, Founder, Beyond the Book: A Literary Experience, Homewood, Illinois