Seeing in the Dark: Getting the Facts on Depression & Finding Hope Again

Christians searching for practical yet compassionate counsel on the subject of depression could not ask for a more competent author team than Kinnaman (a Phoenix pastor and a long-time depression sufferer) and Jacobs (a physician whose wife has battled depression for years). The authors dispel faulty Christian notions that depression is a character flaw or an attention getter, or more general ideas that it is solely a mental or physical illness. They refute the idea that it can be cured by denial or successfully "waited out." Through candid self-disclosure, both men reveal their respective experiences with depression and offer substantive help by viewing depression as the multifaceted illness it is. Their guide is both practical and theological: they discuss recognizing true depression and understanding how brain chemistry affects depression, and also present a concise biblical take on handling dark seasons of life. They offer hope in the grace God affords believers and explore how new thought patterns can help tame some of depression's wildest mental digressions. From engaging opening stories to excellent appendixes that include the history of antidepressants, key self-rating questions and other useful aids, readers will find solid resources for matters of both the soul and the body. (Aug.)