On the Edge of Hope: No Matter How Dark the Night, the Redeemed Soul Still Sings

Pastor Chironna (The Dead Prophets Society) delivers an uneven Christian take on overcoming mental illness. The author shares how in 2007, he felt as if he had been hit by a “cosmic bus” that marked the onset of three and a half years of anxiety and depression. He turned to the Bible for advice and shares with readers what he learned: “Jesus loves you so fully and completely that He will be with you in the darkest, most seemingly Godforsaken emotional places.” The author reports fearing God’s judgment because he had lost sight of God’s loving nature, and remarks that though Job losing his children and belongings might seem like divine punishment, it actually reveals God’s goodness because Job learned that even in dire times “nothing could separate him from God’s love.” To heal, the author contends, one must face up to one’s sin and pain, and bring them before God for forgiveness. Chironna’s personal reflections are frustratingly vague (he enigmatically admits he “cannot share all the details and all the stories”), but the affirming advice will hearten weary Christians (“We can trust ourselves absolutely to the goodness and the power of God”). Readers who can look past the opaque autobiography will find some uplifting insights. (July)