Her mother's sudden death was difficult for her and her large family. But her life was just beginning to get difficult. Her sister-in-law soon died from cancer, as did her brother from an undiagnosed tumor.
"We were looking for him one day because we noticed he wasn't answering the phone," Parker recalled. "We went over and discovered him dead in his bedroom."
And then she lost her job of 20 years when her positioned was eliminated -- all of it within 10 months.
"I was devastated. I was hurt. I felt like my whole world was crumbling. And instead of getting bitter, I chose to get better," Parker said.
What she did was begin to write. A daily journal of her pain slowly turned into a story of survival and faith that is now about to be published.
Parker said, "Because I was so weak, nothing was carrying me but the grace of God."
As she worked on her book, she continued to fight for her mother, just this year losing a three year appeal to the Texas Medical Board. But she now believes everything happens for a reason -- including a book she never thought she'd write and a journey she never thought she'd take.
"Something bigger than you will carry you when you cannot carry yourself," she said.
Anetta Parker's book, titled 'God's Grace is Sufficient' hits bookstores on Tuesday, March 8.
