Surrender to Lead

Winner of the 2026 First Place Catholic Media Association Award for Best Book from a Small Publisher.

Surrender to Lead tells the compelling, often touching stories of 11 individuals who faced life-changing struggles and found a new kind of leadership success when they offered up their lives to God's will.

"The people who tell their stories here all experienced a surrender moment when they turned to God, often in distress, and gave themselves over to His will for their lives. The result for many has been unexpected."

(Preface by Fr. Basil Atwell, OSB)

There's the tough, no-nonsense cowboy who had to be tossed from the back of a horse onto his head, twice, before he would listen to the voice of God:

He said when he walked in the door, his wife took one look at him and said, "What happened to you?!"

"I said I got a little dinged up," he told me with a smile.

Just so you know what a cowboy's version of "a little dinged up" actually is, here's a rundown of his injuries. When the horse fell on him, Jonathan suffered a broken collarbone that split vertically, from one end to the other. He also had a separated shoulder, broken ribs, and a concussion. And with all of that, he still rode a horse, drove a truck, did the chores necessary to make sure the horses were taken care of, and he even saw to his own soul, all before sitting down in a chair. But once he did sit down, he found it difficult to get up again.

Or the Navy SEAL who thought he was invincible:

"When you say, 'Did I ever do anything where my life was in danger?' I mean, you do that continuously," he explained. "Your life is always in danger; you're boarding ships in the middle of the night to get up on a large container ship. You're out on the sea, it's cold, there are currents. We had guys get crushing knee injuries. I knew a guy who broke his back, but I didn't have a broken leg or anything like that."

Except, he did have back injuries, and then there was the time a diversionary grenade exploded on his right foot, breaking the metatarsals and putting him in a cast.

"They wanted me in it for eight weeks, but I made them take it off after three," he said.

- Excerpts from Surrender to Lead.

After a life of excitement like that, it can be hard to surrender to an ordinary day-to-day existence. And yet, lay Catholic leaders discover deep meaning in overcoming challenges, learning how to live for Christ and bring others along for the journey. Like the woman who nearly lost her life falling down the stairs - only to find a new kind of leadership when she finally woke up.

Award-winning journalist Monica Hannan is a gifted interviewer with a deep background in theology. She weaves the stories told here with Catholic teaching and partners with Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop Emeritus of Phoenix, AZ, who provides insightful commentary.

"Sharing at this level is not easy and can even be painful, so it is with special thanks to the brave men and women that their stories are retold, trusting that their sacrifice will make a difference in the way people live and lead." (Monica Hannan)

Monica Hannan is an Emmy-Award-winning journalist who has authored several books, including The Dream Maker and Gift of Death. She has a Bachelor's degree in History from Minnesota State University Moorhead, a Master's in Management degree from the University of Mary, and a Master of Theology degree from the Augustine Institute. She is married to Cliff Naylor, and they have three adult children.