A Christian's Guide to Mental Illness: Answers to 30 Common Questions. David Murray and Tom Karel. 2023. [September] 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]
First sentence from the introduction: What do you think when you hear one of these words: "depression," "anxiety," "bipolar disorder," "schizophrenia," "eating disorder," "obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)," and so on? You probably try not to think about them, and hope you never have to. But with one in five American adults suffering mental illness at some point in their lives, sooner or later someone we love in our family, among our friends, or at church will bring one of these scary labels to life in our lives.
The book is a question and answer format. It can be read cover to cover. But it does not have to be read cover to cover. It can be read like a traditional book--one and done. Or it can be used as a reference book, one that you return to over and over again.
There are two authors--David Murray and Tom Karel. Most of the answers are just straightforward (objective) answers. But after each question, the authors take turns sharing stories. These are clearly identified as Tom's story or David's story.
Some of the questions relate and flow into one another. Others do not.
Who is the book for? I'm not exactly sure it is written directly to those who have mental illness. A few questions, perhaps, could be useful and beneficial to those who are experiencing and struggling with a mental illness. But mostly this is one for caregivers, pastors, elders, counselors and therapists, family members and friends. It is written for Christians by Christians.
What is the purpose? This is stated directly at the end of the book--though to be fair, probably at the beginning as well. "...to help the reader understand how the broken brain does not work, to set the broken brain in context of the gospel, and to discover how the church can bring comfort to the mentally ill and their families."
I found the first few chapters the most helpful. In particular chapters three through six. "What are the different kinds of mental illness?" "How Is Mental Illness Different From Ordinary Sadness, Anxiety, and Confusion?" "How Does Mental Illness Affect the Sufferer? and "How Does Mental Illness Affect Spiritual Life?" Of course, those weren't the only helpful chapters.
Quotes:
God is sovereign over mental illness, and he rules over it to produce good for those who love God, both sufferers and caregivers. He can take what seems like the worst garbage in our lives and turn it into something good and useful.
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