PRESS KIT

A Broken Cup

Notes from a Fellow Struggler

by Curt Iles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Louisiana Author Releases Eighteenth Book

THE HEART OF THE BOOK A warm, honest companion for readers walking through discouragement, depression, exhaustion, grief, or any season when life feels cracked—but not beyond usefulness.

 

A master press kit prepared for print, email, and the web

Creekbank Stories  •  Alexandria / Dry Creek, Louisiana  •  www.creekbank.net

MEDIA CONTACT: Curt Iles  •  curt@creekbank.net  •  318.623.3778

In A Broken Cup, Louisiana storyteller Curt Iles offers candid notes from a fellow struggler—stories, Scripture, hard-earned perspective, and practical encouragement for anyone learning that broken does not mean useless.

Short description

A Broken Cup: Notes from a Fellow Struggler is a compassionate, plainspoken book about walking through life’s dark and difficult stretches without losing hope. Drawing on Curt Iles’s own experience, the biblical story of Elijah, and memorable scenes from the Louisiana Pineywoods, the book speaks as one struggler to another. It does not offer easy answers. Instead, it offers honest companionship, practical tools, and the steady reminder that a cracked cup can still carry something worth sharing.

 

Book details

Title	A Broken Cup
Subtitle	Notes from a Fellow Struggler
Author	Curt Iles
Publisher	Creekbank Stories LLC
Publication date	August 26, 2026
Formats	Paperback • Hardcover • Kindle ebook • Large Print
ISBN / ASIN	A Broken Cup Paperback ISBN 978-1-967796-09-0 A Broken Cup Kindle eBook ISBN: 978-1-967796-90-8 A Broken Cup Hardback ISBN: 978-1-967796-91-5 A Broken Cup LARGE PRINT ISBN 978-1-967796-21-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2026911065
Page count	247 pages
Retail price	Price: $20 Paperback/$27.99 Hardcover/$30 Large $6.99 Print/Kindle ebook
Purchase	Amazon Page

About the Book

 

What happens when the cup you have carried through life becomes chipped, cracked, or broken?

In A Broken Cup: Notes from a Fellow Struggler, Curt Iles writes with uncommon honesty about discouragement, depression, exhaustion, disappointment, and the long road back toward light. He does not write from a pedestal. He writes from beside the reader—as a fellow traveler who has known both deep drought and unexpected grace.

The book moves through personal stories, the biblical account of Elijah under the broom tree, scenes from an 1892 family log house in the Louisiana Pineywoods, and practical chapters on rest, recovery, relationships, and the tools that help people keep going. Throughout, Iles returns to a simple, durable truth: usefulness is not reserved for the unbroken.

Warm, quietly humorous, and never preachy, A Broken Cup is for readers who are struggling, those who love them, and anyone who wants to become a more faithful encourager. It is not a clinical guide or a promise of quick repair. It is a hand on the shoulder and a place to breathe.

Ideal readers

• Readers navigating depression, burnout, grief, disappointment, or a difficult season
• Family members, friends, pastors, teachers, and caregivers who want to encourage someone well
• Church groups, support groups, and book clubs looking for honest discussion
• Readers who enjoy reflective Southern storytelling, faith, nature, and practical encouragement

Key themes

• Broken but still useful
• You’re Not Alone
• You’ll Get Through This
• Dealing with Depression 
• The difference between easy answers and faithful presence
• Rest, recovery, and renewal
• Building a dependable circle of support
• Practical tools for coming out of the dark
• Hope rooted in faith, community, and honest storytelling

QUOTES “Broken does not mean useless.”  “You’re not alone and you’ll get through this.” “In God’s economy, nothing is wasted.” — Curt Iles, A Broken Cup

About Curt Iles

Short biography — 

Curt Iles is a Louisiana author, storyteller, speaker, and lifelong encourager. An eighth-generation Louisianian, he writes from the Pineywoods community of Dry Creek, weaving together faith, family, the outdoors, and the meaningful moments found in ordinary life. Through Creekbank Stories, his mission is to share moving stories that encourage and inspire.

The mission of Creekbank Stories is to share moving stories that encourage and inspire.

Before writing and speaking full-time, Curt served as a teacher and coach, school principal, camp manager, and missionary. Those varied callings gave him a front-row seat to human struggle, resilience, faith, and the quiet power of encouragement. His work is marked by warmth, wry humor, honest reflection, and a strong sense of place.

Curt writes at creekbank.net, home to more than 1,600 Creekbank stories. Whether he is writing from an old family log house, recalling a Louisiana character, or talking plainly about life’s harder roads, his purpose remains the same: to tell the kind of story that helps a reader keep going.

 

Here are several links to learn more about Curt:

 Google:  Curt Iles

Amazon Author Page

 

View Louisiana Public Broadcasting LA64 “Beauregard Parish,” which includes a visit to Dry Creek and an interview with Curt Iles at the Family Homestead.

Learn more at www.creekbank.net/a-broken-cup

Visit Curt’s Amazon Page and view all of our books.

Website:  www.creekbank.net

About Page

Curt Iles Speaker Page

 

 

BACK  cover: A Broken Cup: Notes from a Fellow Struggler by Curt Iles.

 

Interview & Story Ideas

Possible media angles

• Why “broken” and “useless” are not the same thing.
• It’s so easy in today’s society to label anything broken as useless and ready to be tossed.
• What Elijah’s collapse after Mount Carmel teaches about exhaustion after success
• Balance and the R Words
• How to sit with a struggling friend without reaching for clichés
• The Ministry of Presence    click for full chapter
• Why rest is not weakness—and why recovery usually needs a team
  Solitude
• How Louisiana Pineywoods storytelling can carry difficult truths without becoming preachy
• Example:  Burned but Blessed, Tough, Not Hard, and A Friend Named Joy
• From principal and missionary to fellow struggler: how Curt Iles learned to write honestly about the dark
• My first deep depression episode occurred in 2000.

Suggested interview questions

1. The title is A Broken Cup. Where did that image come from, and what does it mean to you?

It’s from an actual event in my life.

2. You call yourself a “fellow struggler.” Why was that phrase important? I’m comfortable calling myself a struggler because I’ve dealt with difficulties that seemed to break.  As I talk to others, I’ve come to realize that everyone is broken in some place in their lives.

 

3. What did you want this book to say—and what did you deliberately avoid saying?  You’re not alone.  You will get through this.  Being broken does not equal being useless.  God takes our personal wounds and teaches us to become a wounded healer, reaching others.  The importance of seeking help

I avoided medical jargon and terms.  This is a memoir of stories, not a textbook.   In all of my writing, my faith shines through. It’s a major part of who I am and played a large role in my healing.   My goal is always to be spiritual without being preachy.

 

4. Why does Elijah’s story, especially the broom tree, speak so strongly to exhausted people?  Elijah is an example of how a strong man of God can encounter difficulty and discouragement.

5. You write about building a team. Who belongs on that team when someone is struggling?

I call it The Concentric Circles.  It begins with our inner circle of family and close friends, extends out to others who care about us, and involves trained medical healers and counseling.

6. What hurtful things do people often say to a depressed person?  Just snap out of it.  If you have enough faith, prayer, Bible study, etc, you’ll be set free from your depression.  Don’t take prescribed medications.  If you do, stop them once you get better. Here’s what a struggler needs to hear: I care about you.  I will help you. You cannot run me off; I’m here to stand with you and walk through this with you.

I’ll pray for you. Better yet, I’ll pray with you. Can I pray aloud for you in a quieter spot?

 

7. How do the Old House and the Louisiana Pineywoods shape the emotional world of this book?

Poem

Solitude

Where I get refreshed.

8. Your writing often includes humor beside sorrow. Why do both belong in the same story?   One of the 

key things I’ve tried to develop in my writing and speaking is to share a story that is hilarious and then slow down and connect with a spiritual truth.

9. What practical tool from the book do you return to most often?

Solitude.

Balance

10. What do you hope a reader will feel when closing the final page?
11. Encouraged.  I’m not alone.  Others have felt this same way.  I will ge through this. If he could get through this, I can to.  It is not a sign of weakness to reach out for help.
12. Speaking topics
13. Faith and Medicine
14. On the Run with Elijah: A case study in victory and despair.   I Kings 18-19

• Broken but Still Useful
• The story that started this book on its way.   Nothing is wasted.  Wounded healers
• Under the Broom Tree: Exhaustion, Grace, and the Next Step God is not through with you. There’s more left in both your story and journey
• Building Your Team and Filling Your Toolbox
• You can’t do it alone.
• The Ministry of Encouragement   It’s something everyone can do.  Thoughts on being an encourager.
• Coming Out of the Dark  The D words, Combat terms, darkness, black dog
• A Band called the Red Clay Strays:
• Burned but Blessed
• Lessons from a tiny relisnt long leaf pine named “Little Andre.”