Like a librarian named Bookman or an ice-cream man named Cone, Birmingham’s William Heritage carries his name with an added sense of purpose — to evangelize a lost world with the legacy of the best men of the greatest generation. At 79, he recalls the sacrifice made by men like his brother, whose body was never recovered from the Pacific Ocean over which he fought during World War II.
Heritage recalls those sacrifices with a freshness and clarity worthy of a novel. So he wrote one. "I thought it’d be a good way to get folks interested in the things of God," Heritage said.
Released in October 2006 by Pleasant Word, "The Way God Wants It to Be" is a quasi-allegorical, war-revolving tale mirroring his own experience as young man. Heritage describes his book in terms of a timeless love story set in rich history. "I was raised up during the Depression and then went through World War II. I didn’t see any fighting because two months after I joined (the Marines at 17), the war was over, but I wrote this book based on my knowledge of that era," said Heritage, a member of Gardendale’s First Baptist Church in North Jefferson Baptist Association.
Kevin Hamm, pastor of Gardendale’s First, said, "William has done an excellent job of captivating the reader by vividly describing the era … with great detail and imagery. It’s a fascinating piece of literature."
"The Way God Wants It to Be" is available online at Amazon.com, Booksamillion.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
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