The Reverend Tom Smiley said he started writing the book, "Runaway Lives,'' about a year and a half ago, long before Wilbanks' escapade became national news. But when it did, he said it provided a perfect window for the thesis he was trying to convey.

"With the national media putting her in our living rooms with her emotional issues, I think her story gave credence to the fact that emotional issues unaddressed can create some havoc in your life,'' Smiley said.

Wilbanks disappeared just days before her scheduled 600-guest wedding while she reportedly was jogging in Duluth. A national search followed and her mother and fiance made tearful pleas begging for her safe return.

The morning of her scheduled wedding, she turned up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, claiming to have been abducted and raped. Relief quickly turned to confusion and anger when Wilbanks recanted her story, saying she fled because of "certain fears'' controlling her life.

Smiley, the pastor of Lakewood Baptist Church, where the family attends services, said the book gives practical advice to deal with painful emotions like jealousy and fear.

"It's not a book about Jennifer, but it's a book about various issues that we all struggle with that can be rather destructive,'' he says.

He said he still speaks with Wilbanks once a week.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)