“A Pretty Wreck” and a God Who Don’t Waste Nothing

“A Pretty Wreck” and a God Who Don’t Waste Nothing

By Dr. Jacquiline Cox | Listen Linda Magazine Contributor | Patheos Columnist

Let me tell you something.

I came across a book that stopped me in my tracks—A Pretty Wreck: From Trauma to Triumph by Prophetess Leah M. Kelley. Now y’all know I don’t toss the word “prophetess” around lightly. But this woman? Whew. She don’t just wear the title—she walks it, breathes it, bleeds it, and writes it straight from the altar of experience. I read it in one sitting. Then I sat there and cried.

Because I know what it feels like to look at your life and see wreckage—but somehow still see pretty in the ruins.

This ain’t just a testimony—it’s a trail.

In this book, Leah takes us through the kind of pain most folks try to bury. Abuse. Trauma. Silence. Church hurt. That deep, ugly grief that doesn’t have language. But what I love is—she doesn’t park in the pain. She walks us through it. She shows us the blood-stained breadcrumbs that led her out of it. That’s what a real survivor does. Not just survive, but circle back and show somebody else the way out.

She says she was “conceived in trauma” and grew up in a house where secrets shouted louder than prayers. But now? She’s the loudest one in the room for Jesus. And not the performative kind—the kind that still shows up when it’s just her and God.

She don’t sugarcoat. She sanctifies.

One thing I respect deeply about Prophetess Leah is that she tells the truth. Not the cleaned-up church version. Not the “let me protect my image” version. The truth. And truth-telling is ministry. Period.

She calls herself “a pretty wreck.” Not because she’s trying to glamorize pain—but because she understands what happens when God gets His hands on brokenness. He don’t throw it away. He uses every cracked piece. Every bruise. Every tear. Every “why me” moment. And He builds something beautiful that can speak.

That’s what this book is. It speaks.

God doesn’t throw people away—He delivers them.

Listen Linda—this book is for the girl who thought God skipped her. For the woman who sits in church every Sunday and still feels like she ain’t enough. For the grown adult carrying childhood trauma like a secret suitcase. It’s for every mother, daughter, sister, prophetess, preacher, survivor, and silent screamer who’s tired of pretending to be healed when you’re really just high-functioning in your pain.

What Leah reminds us is this: You can be a wreck and still be worthy. You can be cracked and still be called. You can be bleeding and still be chosen.

Because God doesn’t wait for us to be polished. He pulls us out while we’re still dirty. And that’s the kind of God Leah Kelley writes about. Not just the God of church folk—but the God of the ones who had to survive their own house.

She ain’t just an author—she’s an altar builder.

Prophetess Leah runs Inspire2Live & Grow Prophetic Ministries, and let me tell you—her online presence is just as real as the book. Her Facebook page? It’s not a fan page, baby. It’s a sanctuary. Her posts drip with oil and honesty. Her ministry is intimate. Accessible. Rooted. You don’t feel like you’re being preached at—you feel like you’re being reached for.

That matters.

Because we’re in a time where people are tired of hype and hungry for healing. Leah doesn’t just give you pages—she gives you permission. Permission to feel. Permission to fall. Permission to be a masterpiece and a mess. At the same time.

My take?

If you’ve ever had to crawl your way through trauma with tears in your eyes and prayers in your mouth—this book will hold you. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s for the ones who kept going when they had every reason to give up.

So if that’s you? Don’t just read this book. Let it read you.

Let it remind you that you’re not alone.

Let it whisper back to you what the enemy tried to steal.

Let it show you that even the wreckage has value when it’s in God’s hands.

Because baby… you may be a wreck.

But you’re still His.

And that alone? Makes you pretty.

Final Note: From One Survivor to Another

Prophetess Leah M. Kelley, I see you. I honor you. I thank you for letting God use your scars to speak life into ours. You didn’t just survive. You surrendered. And you let the wreckage become your witness.

“A Pretty Wreck” isn’t just a book title. It’s a ministry. It’s a movement. It’s a mirror.

And baby, the reflection is stunning.

To connect with Prophetess Leah M. Kelley or purchase A Pretty Wreck: From Trauma to Triumph, visit her Facebook page @Inspire2LiveGrow or search the book on Amazon (Blue Forge Press, ISBN: 979-8894390598).

�️ Written by Dr. Jacquiline Cox,

Founder of Listen Linda Publishing & Magazine,

17x Best-Selling Author,

Mrs. Illinois USA Ambassador,

And living proof that God can rebuild anything.