Raising a Boaz
She set out to raise a godly man. God used the journey to heal a broken woman.
In Raising a Boaz, debut author Jen Sanada shares the redemptive story of Maya, a single mother determined to raise her son with strength, faith and purpose—even while struggling to reclaim those very things herself.
Told in vivid third-person narrative—this memoir follows their journey through trauma, spiritual wrestling, and the quiet work of rebuilding. As Mateo grows, so does Maya—into a woman learning that healing often comes in the smallest, holiest steps.
Honest, gritty, and infused with faith, Raising a Boaz is for anyone who’s ever questioned their worth, wrestled with God, or longed to believe that restoration is still possible.
The story of
Jen Sanada
Jen Sanada writer, speaker, and a single mother who has spent decades walking with God through the non-linear journey of surviving, thriving, and learning how to flourish. As someone who navigated single motherhood in the midst of trauma and abuse, she speaks and writes from lived experience—honoring real healing that moves forward even while revisiting old wounds.
With a story that echoes Rahab’s redemption and a heart devoted to raising a Boaz, Jen encourages women to believe that a broken past does not disqualify them from a beautiful legacy. Her debut memoir, Raising a Boaz, is the first in a planned series that reflects her ongoing journey of faith, obedience, and hope—rooted not in arrival, but in continued becoming.
About the author and the book. Jen Sanada is a Christian writer and speaker in the United States who writes from her own experience of single motherhood, trauma, abuse, faith, and healing. Raising a Boaz is her debut memoir: a Christian memoir and single mother memoir about raising a son with strength and purpose while the mother herself is slowly restored through trauma, spiritual struggle, and faith. The manuscript is complete, but the book is not yet published and cannot be purchased. For what the book is about, who it is for, and the publishing timeline, see the Q&A. To read Jen’s story, visit the About page.