Arla Caraboolad's new series, Love's Playbook, is the Bible told as a story from a female, family-systems, cosmic-war, good-God perspective. Why? The Bible was written by men, who use few words, were mostly warriors, and who focus on facts with little or no emotion or explanation. She believes God's story could engage us and make us want to keep reading! After 30 years as a family therapist she understands that everyone sees through filters, even allowing for inspiration. Translation is not an exact science!

Beginning with episode one, God decides to go ahead with our creation even though it has been long delayed by a cosmic war between good and evil, and this little book ends with a detailed account of our creation. Then follow two books on the stories of Genesis, then Job, a simplified version of the oldest and most celebrated literary work. Next is Exodus, a new look at Moses' own story; book 6, Cosmic Crisis, goes through Deuteronomy and says God's laws keep us! If you have wanted to read the Bible but got bogged down, couldn't understand, or it scared you, (like it did her) this series is for you! It's full of carefully researched backstory, along with imagination to reveal the truth of an all-good God in a fun and easy-to-read story version. Give it a try. You can always check out the facts, most of them are in the notes. Enjoy falling in love with a new picture of God. Book 7, My Laws Will Keep You, is one of her favorite because of the story of Ruth, a wonderful presentation of the good news about God. To date book 10--Solomon through Elisha--is out!

Her first job after college was teaching high school English and math at the women's prison in California (1972). There, the question she heard most, "If there is a loving God, why did He allow what happened to me as a child?" begin 40 years of research about why we suffer, had culminated in her first book, The Worst Evil--Losing Yourself (2011).

Arla's adventure, after marriage, motherhood, and divorce, continued with going back to graduate school and becoming a Family Systems Therapist in 1987. Her goal is to make huge, difficult topics simple, and to help people find their true selves and an authentic relationship with God, who by the way, is all good.

Born in Minnesota, Arla married there in 1978, and had her daughter. This was after being transplanted in Southern California in 1972, from Lincoln, Nebraska, where she grew up and graduated from college.

While in Minnesota she owned a natural foods restaurant from 1976-79. Health had become another passion, leading to publishing a children's book Tommy Tortoise, and recently both an ebook and workbook version of Love Losing. A vegan cookbook that changes your focus from your looks to your health--reasonably--but it takes commitment to do the work of facing your triggers. (That's how she lost 30 lbs. and never thought about weight again. That plus exercise--she exercised on a mini trampoline for 25 years until she shattered her ankle in a car accident! And says, anyone can walk on a mini-trampoline for 5 min. a day. Now she uses a body ball.)

Arla moved back to California with her daughter in 1982 after a divorce. She says, "That was when I really learned to trust God, living as a single parent on $200 a month!" She went back to school at Loma Linda University and earned a Masters degree in Family Life Education.

She remarried Richard and became a step-mom to two more children. More education. She was licensed as an MFT in California in 1992. And now celebrates nine grandchildren!

She keeps up with a blog that posts here and her website--the life of Jesus in a year--called Know God in a Year, God-in-Box--Your Inbox from http://Godhelps.net and invites you to check it out.