When you first meet Edna Panaggio of Cranston, you may not believe she is 87 years young.

Her enthusiasm for life and her faith have led her down a positive journey, which is chronicled in her latest book release,

“Fiddling Through the Wilderness.” On March 15, she met with a group of individuals at the Cranston Public Library’s Central Branch.

“One day, I was reading my journal and I couldn’t believe that I had stories, stories and stories,” said Panaggio, an actress, pageant coach and author. “God wrote the book as I began to pull all of the material together with pictures, vignettes and epilogues. It was fun. I found the money to just flow in to pay for each movement toward publishing, with the commercials and film money I was making, and it just kept going. The spirit was moving me in the right direction and supplying me with all I needed to see it through.”

The book chronicles Panaggio’s devotion to God after being “born again” at age 54, and her trials and triumphs over the subsequent 28 years.

“I learned to give of myself in a very realistic way and was able to put it into simple pieces that He had the privilege of putting the puzzle together to His Glory. My life is full of the glory that He showed me as He worked through me,” she said. “I am truly blessed and know it. In my mid-80s, 33 years under His guidance, through my obedience, I live a much fulfilled life without too much anxiety knowing that He is in charge with His faithfulness and love for me. I have learned how to accept that, which adds great joyfulness to my life.”

A grandmother of four, Panaggio said readers have told her of the impact her story has had on their own lives.

“Many of my readers have expressed that the book has changed their lives. One said, ‘You really sounded like you were dancing through the wilderness,’” she said. 

“Fiddling Through the Wilderness,” self-published through Xlibris.com, can be purchased through that company or at Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. Hardcover, softcover and digital versions are available.