Searching For The Soul Within Me: The Kitchen Table, The Front Porch, and The Big Tree

by J. Derrick Cattenhead

In Searching For The Soul Within Me, J. Derrick Cattenhead invites readers into three places that shaped, saved, and restored his the kitchen table, the front porch, and the shade of a big tree.

These were not just locations. They were classrooms. They were altars. They were places where faith was tested, family was formed, and healing began.

With honesty and heart, this memoir traces a soul-searching journey through memory, pain, love, grace, grief, and the quiet weight of mental anguish. Each chapter reminds us that God meets us in the ordinary and leads us back to who we were always meant to be.

If you have ever carried questions you could not name or longed for peace you could not explain, this book is for you.

148 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2026

Reviews

[Ginny Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this book I could hear Derrick’s voice and his compassion for others come through. Although I didn’t grow up with a lot of relatives nearby, I remember our kitchen table where we ate, made crafts, did homework and sorted out life. I now have that same table in our kitchen and the memories of my childhood are still there.

Derrick’s writing is thought provoking, not only on our day to day life, but our lives in Christ and His purpose for our lives. As he says, read it slowly and sink into your own memories and relationship with Christ. A must read.