Unlikely Angel – by Ashley Smith with Stacy Mattingly (2005)

 

“Unlikely Angel” is really two stories. One is the story of Brian Nichols, an escaped convict who had just killed four people, and was looking for a place to lay low for awhile, and he chose Ashley’s apartment. The other story is of Ashley’s life, which was in disarray. Her husband had been murdered a few years before, she’d gotten addicted to ice and xanax, she’d been through rehab and a mental hospital, and she’d lost custody of her daughter Paige. But she had also found God.

The most amazing thing about the story was the way Ashley was able to relate to Brian. She shared with him her sins and shortcomings, and told him that in the eyes of God all sins were equal. She urged him to ask God for forgiveness, and then do the right thing – surrender to the authorities. Because she had gone through so much in her life, she was able to show both caring and truth to her captor. God surely did use her as an unlikely angel, as the title says.