New Iberia author’s first book a fresh look at relationships
Published 12:04 pm Friday, March 28, 2025
Months ago, James Sigue II felt a calling to write a book. The 30-year-old New Iberia native and UL graduate was working as a systems engineer and had never particularly enjoyed writing, but he took a leap of faith and left his job.
Sigue didn’t even have a particular topic in mind at first.
“I prayed about it and felt like God was asking me to write about being single, especially in today’s culture, which doesn’t give us the best picture based on a biblical standpoint,” he said.
Sigue spent the next five months writing The Art of Singleness, working up to nine hours a day at local coffee shops. His main spot was Komade on Parkview Drive, which hosted a book signing earlier this month.
“I believe that before moving into an intimate relationship, we should fall in love with God first,” he said. “We’re a reflection of him. Ultimately, we want to love other people the way he loves people.”
Sigue said a healthy relationship involves proper communication, setting boundaries, and being vulnerable and transparent. He encourages others to put their pride aside.
“The biggest thing is laying down that pride,” he said. “It can be a wedge in a relationship, having that ‘my way or the highway’ mentality,” he said.
While a theme of the 130-page book, which can be purchased online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon, is finding true love with God’s help, the principles can be applied to other relationships.
“I talk about how you can have a healthy relationship with other people while you’re single,” Sigue said. “It doesn’t have to be an intimate relationship. It can be day-to-day relationships with family, friends and co-workers. We can start working on being a better person to others.”
He advises people to work on themselves while preparing for who God has for them as a life partner. Part of that entails healing from past hurt and unhealthy relationships.
“I pieced together words in the Bible with my past experiences to say how we as Christians can navigate the single season in a healthy way,” he said.
Sigue, who used his own words in the book to improve the relationship with his father, has plans for more publications. A 30-day devotional and a spin-off of his debut are under construction. He’d love to sell a million copies of The Art of Singleness, but his goal is modest.
“If one person reads this book, gets a lot out of it, and it changes their life,” he said, “that’s an accomplished goal of mine. That’s all that really matters to me.”
Although the book is easy to read, Sigue said it’s best consumed slowly based on the reaction from readers.
“If you allow it, the book will read you, as well,” he said. “It will speak to you in such a way that you’ll start to self-reflect.”
