For many who hear or read Katherine Wolf’s story, only one word comes to mind: survivor. Wolf suffered a severe stroke at the age of 26. But for Wolf, that didn’t slow her down. Instead, it seemed to propel her forward.
Crosswalk had the opportunity to interview Katherine Wolf outside her new coffee shop, whose mission goes beyond just selling coffee; it is dedicated to creating an inclusive space for people with disabilities in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. One thing is clear about Katherine Wolf: she lives out her mission through the camp she founded to support people with physical disabilities. She is ready to inspire hope through her words and her new book, “Treasures in the Dark,” and to help move people forward and liberate them through their God-given stories.
Crosswalk heading: What inspired you to start a new coffee shop?
Katherine Wolf: This story began 16 years ago when I had a severe stroke and nearly died from a disease called Arteriovenous Malformation, which ruptures in the brain stem and causes severe strokes. After the stroke, I became severely disabled and remain so to this day. I use a wheelchair or walker and cannot drive a car. As you can see, my face is paralyzed and I have some major health issues. I became involved in the disability community and became disillusioned with how marginalized this community really is and how spaces are not being created for people like us. My husband and I started many years ago by creating a camping community where we would invite families with disabilities to camp completely free and have a holiday-like experience of a week of celebration. These experiences led us to start a coffee shop where people with disabilities can find hope and a place to belong.
CWH: How is the coffee shop going so far?
keyword: It is in the kindness of God that the Lord revealed it to us, meaning we never thought this would happen.
CWH: When did you know God was calling you to write Treasures in the Dark?
keyword: I’ve written two books so far. This is my third, a kind of prayer book. It’s a collection of consumable reflections. I call them “little reflection entries.” These are some of the treasures I found in the darkness.
CWH: It’s a tough season for many, what advice would you give to those walking through darkness?
keyword: If you are walking through the dark right now, you will get through it. Darkness does not last forever. After having a stroke and being disabled to the point where I could barely breathe, I learned that you can live a wonderful life and that God put me here in this body at this moment for a reason. And I believe that if you have breath in your lungs and you are here on earth, you are not an accident or a mistake, but God wanted you in this story. Otherwise you would not be here. The reality is, if you were supposed to die, you would have died. But you are here. So the question is, what do you do with the life God gave you?
CWH: Why did you choose a 90-day time frame for this book?
keyword: I know very well that during the rigors of never-ending treatment there wasn’t much time to read a chapter book, and it needed to be a short introduction for people in the midst of dark times.
CWH: You talk about hope in the book, but what does it give us?
keyword: Hope is an escape route. Hope allows us to live the reality of life before us, focuses us to see what is in the story, and makes what remains beautiful in the story.
CWH: How have you overcome the challenges you’ve had to deal with?
keyword: I think my deep faith, recognizing that there is hope on the other side of all the hardships, and that somehow God is at work and hasn’t abandoned me, really changed my response to it all, and in the midst of all that chaos.
CWH: What would you say to someone who feels like their life isn’t going well because of the challenges they’ve experienced?
keyword: I think changing your mindset will change your mind. The year the locusts ate, they didn’t for some reason. It wasn’t for you. And that’s not what God said in the story.
Those years were not the best years God gave you, for some reason you may not understand.
CWH: How would you describe your own personal journey?
keyword: It’s been a complicated journey. My first son was 6 months old when I had my stroke, so all my first experiences were gone. I was relearning to walk at the same time he was learning to walk. I was relearning to swallow at the same time he was learning to swallow. It was hard. But I don’t remember anything from the first 2 1/2 months after my stroke, including my first Mother’s Day. Now, 7 1/2 years later, after being told multiple times that I would never be able to conceive biologically again, I am blessed with my second child. Having him in our lives was so special, and now John is 8 and James is 16 and both are doing great.
Photo credit: ©YouTube/Hope Heals
