God blessed me when The Tribune-Democrat interviewed me.

Reporter Kelly Urban and photographer Todd Berkey arrived at my house and immediately put me at ease so that I could share my message of love and forgiveness with them. Here’s the In the Spotlight article from The Tribune-Democrat on May 6 and 7, 2022.

In the Spotlight | ‘God was in control’: Sidman woman writes book about forgiving her son’s killer, herself.

SIDMAN, Pa. – On Aug. 2, 2017, Tammy Horvath received the news no parent wants to hear.

Her 19-year-old son, Luke Yuzwa, was shot and killed in the middle of Steel Street in Johnstown’s Old Conemaugh Borough neighborhood.

His killer, Tyrone Terrance McDuffie, was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder and other charges.

“My son was murdered, and in the days and months that followed, I had to face the horrors of losing my son and forgiving his killer,” the Sidman resident said.

She said that, a year after Yuzwa’s death, she sensed that God was calling her to tell her story.

“I didn’t decide to write a book. God kept laying it on my heart that he wanted me to share it,” Horvath said. “I never thought of myself as a writer, but I had to put it all in words somehow.”

While on vacation in February 2018, she began writing her story, and it took her four months to complete.

“I would write 12 to 16 hours a day,” Horvath said. “I just kept at it until it was done, just to get it all down.”

“Gone in an Instant: Losing My Son, Loving His Killer” not only chronicles the agonizing events of Horvath’s son’s death, but also follows her journey to faith, forgiveness, love and renewed hope.

Along with finding forgiveness for McDuffie, she said the book became a way for her to come to terms with her past and forgive her mistakes as a mother.

“My main message is about forgiveness, and I’ve also learned that forgiving myself is harder than forgiving a stranger,” Horvath said. “People tell me they couldn’t have done what I did by forgiving my son’s murderer, but I didn’t struggle with it. God told me to forgive him. I know the Bible, and I know God requires us to forgive.”

She added that, during the sentencing phase of McDuffie’s trial, not a single member of his family showed up to support him, and an overwhelming love filled her.

“When the time came to give my victim impact statement, I knew exactly what to say. ‘Tyrone, because I am a follower of Jesus, I am required to forgive you, and I have forgiven you from the moment you took my son’s life from this earth,’ ” Horvath said.

But the true healing didn’t happen until the end of 2020 when she did a rewrite of her manuscript.

The rewriting helped her process her emotions and forced her to come to terms with her parenting of Yuzwa, who suffered from behavioral and psychological problems and was using and selling drugs.

“My new awareness taught me that forgiving people isn’t easy, especially when it involves yourself,” Horvath said. “What I learned is that I had to forgive myself for my mistakes. I also had to forgive Luke for the hurt he put me through.”

Released on April 1, the self-published book became a four-time No. 1 Amazon bestseller.

Horvath said she’s learned to live each day to honor Yuzwa’s memory and to serve God with the assurance that he will use her son’s death for good.

“I write and speak so that every person may know God’s immeasurable love and that forgiveness is the essence of God’s love,” she said. “I’m committed to loving the unlovable and forgiving as I have been forgiven.”

Horvath said she’s found peace and is hopeful her experience will help others.

“I’m happy, and I know God was in control,” Horvath said. “I know God has a purpose for me because so many people have told me that my message has helped them forgive. They’ll say if I can forgive a cold-blooded killer, they need to forgive, too.”

Information on purchasing “Gone in an Instant: Losing My Son, Loving His Killer” is available on Horvath’s website at www.tammyhorvath.com.

Did you like Kelly’s article? Who do you need to forgive?