Arnold then returned to the Chicago area, living the rest of her life in Oak Park, Illinois, with her eldest daughter, Helen Hoel, and her husband, Joel.
"It is an excellent example of a book that is not only inspiring with its powerful Christian message, but also full of good writing," wrote Ann Bailes in the Anderson (S.C.) Independent Mail in 2011.
[14] Zondervan also accepted for publication another novel Arnold submitted to the International Christian Fiction Contest, Fruit for Tomorrow, published in 1949.
[22] A 1973 obituary in the Moody Press Tips newsletter said: "In her own distinctive style, the author established a relationship with her readers through the conflicts, trials and complications of the characters.
These are not just dramatic adventures, however, instead the accounts are realistic interpretations of the sufferings and joys of human nature and how Jesus Christ becomes the answer to loneliness and confusion.
[5] The Moody Press Tips obituary opined that Not My Will "will continue to be a best-seller, sending forth Mrs. Arnold’s Christian witness for many years to come.