When an American Christian family moves to Moscow to help launch a local Christian television station, they believe they are answering a calling. They never imagine the storm that lies ahead. The family leaves Moscow and returns to the United States five years before the Russia-Ukraine war erupts. Yet when war breaks out, and geopolitical chaos spreads across the globe, the conflict reaches far beyond the battlefield, pulling their lives into a dangerous, high-stakes drama spanning continents.
After President Biden takes office in 2021, the Department of Justice resurrects the husband’s past and turns it into a weapon, threatening to destroy everything the family holds dear. As political persecution intensifies, loyalty is tested, faith is shaken, and family bonds are pushed to the breaking point. With every page, readers descend into a world where government policy is weaponized, and religious freedom is crushed. Will the family cling to their convictions amid relentless pressure? Or will the machinery of power completely ruin their lives?
Vividly portrayed and electrifying, The Sport of Ruining Lives weaves intrigue, suspense, and global politics into a heart-pounding narrative set against the dramatic backdrops of Moscow and New York. More than a thriller, it is a timely and provocative exploration of faith, freedom, and survival in a world where justice is no longer impartial and the rules are anything but fair.The Sport of Ruining Lives: Political & Religious Persecution In Modern America is the gripping debut novel from Joanne J. Stoner, an international entrepreneur, Harvard Business School graduate, and former senior executive at global companies across multiple industries. She first gained international attention as the founder of eDressMe.com, one of the world's earliest and most successful online fashion retailers, which drew more than 15 million shoppers each month.
After decades of navigating high-stakes corporate and international environments, Stoner began to recognize troubling patterns of government overreach that extended far beyond business. What initially appeared to be isolated encounters of government misconduct gradually revealed something far more alarming: systemic corruption reaching into the highest levels of power. By 2021, she observed what seemed to be a disturbing shift within the U.S. Justice Department, once a steadfast defender of liberty, now deploying its vast authority against individuals on the basis of their faith rather than any evidence of wrongdoing.
In The Sport of Ruining Lives, Stoner turns these observations into a riveting work of fiction, following an ordinary American Christian family caught in the crosshairs of institutional injustice. This pulse-pounding story of faith under siege and freedom at risk is more than a thriller. It is a warning. When justice falters and fundamental rights erode, everyday citizens can become expendable pawns in a ruthless struggle for power.
Fast-paced, tense, and unsettlingly plausible, The Sport of Ruining Lives is both a compelling novel and a stark wake-up call. When governing institutions fail to protect the innocent and uphold fairness and accountability under the law, the very foundation of American society begins to crack.