Jessica Chambers to author: 'The world needs to hear my story'

Jessica Chambers was on the verge of telling what she felt to be an important and powerful story when she died.

But the woman she asked to help her write her book said the 19-year-old Courtland girl who was burned alive just weeks later never told her what that story was.

Linda Oliver, a writer from Birmingham, was in Batesville to do a conference last fall. She remembers meeting Chambers clearly, and she said she remembers the teen telling her, "I have a story that needs to be told. The world needs to hear my story. I need to get my story out there."

Oliver said the theme for the conference was, "Everyone Has a Story." While she had done many other conferences, the one where she met Chambers was the first with that theme, and possibly the reason the two were drawn together.

"I had planned to wait until this year to launch the conference theme when the book was ready, but I just had this feeling like I needed to go ahead and launch it at that conference, which I did," she said. "I'm glad because I might not have met Jessica otherwise."

Oliver has written a book about her daughter's miraculous recovery, and after speaking at the conference, she was at her merchandise table packing up. She said she looked up, and there was a "beautiful, petite blonde with those big eyes" waiting patiently for her to finish.

"I don't know how long she was standing there because I was busy, but when I looked up, she was there just observing, not in a hurry, not waiting on anything, just watching me put things away," Oliver said. "Then she said, 'I'm going to write a book too.' I said, 'You are?' She said, 'Yes, I am, but I don't know how. Will you help me,' and I said of course."

The staff began turning the lights out on them, so Oliver told Chambers she'd be back in the spring, and that they would get together and work on the book at that point.

The next day, Oliver sang at a local church. She said as she greeted people by the back door, she felt someone's eyes on her.

"You know how you just feel someone looking at you and you look up and catch their glance, well that's what happened," Oliver said. "She was in the line about five people back, but she was just again looking at me. Well, that's not weird to me because when I do these conferences, many people are fine, but many people are hurting and they come to these conferences because of our story, and they're attracted to come hear these stories of hope."

When Chambers reached her in the greeting line, she said something that struck Oliver strangely.

"We hugged each other and she said these words to me: 'Please don't forget me.' And I thought, 'Oh my gosh,' and I said, 'I will never forget you,'" Oliver said. "It was just profound, you know what I mean, and looking back I see why, and I just stood there thinking, 'Wow. Don't ever forget me.'"

Then Chambers reminded her of her promise from the night before.

"She said, 'I need to write my book, you will help me?' and I said, 'Yes I will.' She said, 'I have a story that needs to be told. The world needs to hear my story. I need to get my story out there.' And I said, 'We will do that my friend, we will do that.' And we separated at that point," Oliver said.

She never learned what that story was about.

"Looking back, when I felt that connection... I've had connections before... I know the cry for help in a persons' heart, the woundedness, because that's what I do, and I wish I had gone back that week just to meet with her," Oliver said. "But who would have known? We had no way to know."

Oliver said when she last saw Chambers in the church, she commented about her to the pastor. That's the only reason she ended up knowing her fate.

"He said, 'You remember the little blonde girl we talked about?' and I said yes, and he said, 'Well, she was killed,' and told me how," Oliver said. "I felt like I couldn't breathe. I don't know what to say. What story did she have to tell, you know?"

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.