Yesterday, I finished my first book for my CCEF classes--Depression: A Stubborn Darkness.
It was excellent! I have read at it before, but never read all the way through it.
The book is biblical counseling at its best: wise, loving, careful, multichromatic, friendly, accessible, Christ-centered, helpful, and nearly comprehensive.
Welch has an amazing ability to describe the experience of depression in evocative metaphors while studiously avoiding the temptation to determine "the" cause of someone's depression. Instead, he gets to the heart of things and carefully helps a depressed person respond in faith to what they are experiencing because of the grace of Christ.
Most helpfully, he places the experience of depression in the biblical category of suffering--and suffering has multiple causes and multiple purposes in our lives--all of which he explores.
Our family has wrestled with this stubborn darkness in many ways both personally and in our ministry, and this is definitely the wisest book out there on the subject. The brief chapter for family and friends is worth the price of the book itself--each chapter is worth reading on its own.
Actually, this would be a good read for anyone--depressed or not. Because in many ways, it is really a study in how we can respond in faith through the experience of suffering, in this case, the suffering of emotional deadness and pain. While not usually a very depressed person myself, I found this book to speak directly to my experience, as well.
For more:
An Written Interview on Dr. Welch's book A Stubborn Darkness
A Video Interview with Dr. Welch on Depression
One down--about 11 to go...
It was excellent! I have read at it before, but never read all the way through it.
The book is biblical counseling at its best: wise, loving, careful, multichromatic, friendly, accessible, Christ-centered, helpful, and nearly comprehensive.
Welch has an amazing ability to describe the experience of depression in evocative metaphors while studiously avoiding the temptation to determine "the" cause of someone's depression. Instead, he gets to the heart of things and carefully helps a depressed person respond in faith to what they are experiencing because of the grace of Christ.
Most helpfully, he places the experience of depression in the biblical category of suffering--and suffering has multiple causes and multiple purposes in our lives--all of which he explores.
Our family has wrestled with this stubborn darkness in many ways both personally and in our ministry, and this is definitely the wisest book out there on the subject. The brief chapter for family and friends is worth the price of the book itself--each chapter is worth reading on its own.
Actually, this would be a good read for anyone--depressed or not. Because in many ways, it is really a study in how we can respond in faith through the experience of suffering, in this case, the suffering of emotional deadness and pain. While not usually a very depressed person myself, I found this book to speak directly to my experience, as well.
For more:
An Written Interview on Dr. Welch's book A Stubborn Darkness
A Video Interview with Dr. Welch on Depression
One down--about 11 to go...
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