Race Against Time

The Incredible Origin Story Behind the Book “Israel’s Trial by Fire”

by Brigitte Chaya Nussbächer

What begins as an ordinary book assignment turns into a breathless journey filled with obstacles, unexpected turns of fate, and emotional highs and lows. In “Race Against Time,” Brigitte Chaya Nussbächer tells the extraordinary story behind the creation of her book “Israel’s Trial by Fire.” As deadlines falter and seemingly insurmountable challenges arise, one thing becomes increasingly clear: this book does not follow any ordinary plan - and in the end, something emerges that surpasses all expectations.

A true story of how a miracle takes shape.

When I received the assignment in April 2025 to write a book about Israel, the publication was originally scheduled for the fall program of 2026. In reality, I could only begin writing in mid-May, as I first had to complete reports about our Israel mission in April 2025. But then, what followed was probably one of the most productive phases of my life. It felt as though the book was writing itself, and I could barely keep up with putting the thoughts into words. Every week, I invested one or two vacation days, along with evenings and weekends. Chapter by chapter took shape as I juggled three layers: current events, historical background, and personal life stories.

By the end of June, I contacted my project manager and suggested an earlier publication date, as it was already clear that I would finish by the end of July. The initial response was a rejection: all upcoming publication slots were already scheduled, and there was no capacity to add an additional title. But then another author announced that she would not be able to deliver her manuscript as planned - and my book was able to slip into that gap in the spring 2026 program. Without my knowledge, the publisher also postponed the release of another, more timeless Israel-related book in favor of this highly topical subject. The new publication date was set for March 2026.

While I had originally assumed that writing itself would be the most intense part of the work, I was soon proven wrong. Until then, I had been working on my own - but now interactions with others began, with different schedules and competing priorities colliding. This became evident during the editing phase, which was originally scheduled for eight weeks - five of which were already taken up by my editor’s vacation and my own. I I will always be grateful that we managed to complete the entire workload in just three short weeks in an incredible sprint.

At the same time, work began on the title and cover. After several iterations, we finally found a solution that satisfied everyone. For this part, I also involved our friends from Israel, because it was extremely important to me that they could identify with this book, which contains their stories.
Then a bold idea emerged. We had long been planning an Israel event at the end of January to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the book could be released in January instead of March - and if we could combine the book launch with the event? However, I did not receive a definitive answer from the publisher.

The real test came during the typesetting phase, when the fully edited and corrected text was transformed into a professional, print-ready layout. At first, my book remained untouched while other processes were completed. And when I finally received it back in the second half of October, more than 800 new errors had crept into the previously correct text. These had to be painstakingly corrected over several exhausting rounds, with the final ones only resolved in November.

Meanwhile, preparations for the Israel event were already in full swing, and we still did not know whether “Israel’s Trial by Fire” would be available in time, which made promotional efforts incredibly difficult. We decided to announce the book together with the event – but without a specific publication date.

At the beginning of November, a conference hosted by the Christian Forum for Israel, led by Harald Eckert, took place in Berlin. Since he knew and appreciated my articles, which are also published on their website, he kindly offered to include flyers for my book in the participants’ welcome packages. In a last-minute effort, we ensured that the flyers arrived in the capital on time. At the end of November, a second opportunity arose at another Israel conference hosted by ICEJ (International Christian Embassy Jerusalem) in Nürtingen to distribute flyers - yet we still did not know the exact publication date.

Slowly, my nerves began to unravel. I had heard of books returning from the printer with errors: missing pages, incorrect bindings, mismatched spines, and more. What if the same thing happened to my book?

But on December 10, I received a call: the finished books had been delivered. That evening, I rushed to the publishing house. There they were -pallets with 3,000 copies. For the first hour, I searched only for potential errors and was overjoyed to find none. Only then did the joy truly break through.

December 10, 2025: The Day the Book Arrived. Private Photo.

“You have to do the things that make them happen,” and “You are as big as the dreams you dare to live.” Before me lay a dream that had become reality. Although the book could not yet be sold during the Christmas season because it was officially scheduled for 2026, we now finally knew that we would present it at the Israel event - and we could begin privately spreading the word and giving it as a Hanukkah gift to our Jewish friends.

That night, the entire story of its creation passed before my eyes - the obstacle course filled with seemingly impossible challenges. And I realized that, despite all difficulties, I owed this happy ending solely to my Heavenly Father. It was not perfect planning, coordination, professionalism, or brilliance that led to this result. Again and again, He had cleared the way and removed obstacles - and made it evident that He had done so.

Since the publication date remained uncertain until the very end, the publisher’s catalog listed late February as the release date, and marketing activities were scheduled for later.

The Book “Israel’s Trial by Fire” ...

Nevertheless, in the first days of January 2026, my book left the warehouse and began its journey to readers. It seeks to bring people closer to those in Israel, to give faces to current events, to give space to the voices of October 7, 2023 to show how affected families rebuild their lives from the ruins - and to tell the story of this extraordinary country, marked by miracles.

Book Launch. Private Photo

On January 28, as hoped and dreamed, the book launch took place as part of the Israel event “For the Living.” The response was overwhelming. Every second guest purchased at least one copy. Some even arrived with lists of people they wanted to gift the book to and asked for signed dedications. And incredibly, but true: in its first month after release, “Israel’s Trial by Fire” became the best-selling book of the entire publishing group.

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First publication: Mai 14, 2026

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