Spirituality |
Christian Living |
Psychology |
Religion |
Mental Health |
Summary
Summary
A brave and compassionate look at mental illness that offers theological understanding and personal insights from the author's experiences.
Author Notes
Kathryn Greene-McCreight (PhD, Yale University) is associate chaplain at The Episcopal Church at Yale, priest affiliate at Christ Church in New Haven, Connecticut, and a theological writer. She also serves on the board of the Elm City Chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and on the Patient and Family Advisory Council of Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital.
Reviews (1)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Shortly after the birth of her second child, Greene-McCreight fell into a deep depression that lasted on and off for several years. Five years later she was diagnosed as bipolar, "a disease that scuttles between depression and mania." With mental illness so severe that she was hospitalized five times, she nevertheless continued to work as an Episcopal priest and theologian, wrestling with questions that therapists rarely broach but that Christian sufferers can't help asking: If all of God's intentions for us are good, why do we suffer? What is the relationship between mental illness and sin? Is the "dark night of the soul" different from depression? Will God forgive suicide? By means of personal story, theological reflection and practical suggestions for caregivers, Greene-McCreight takes readers into her mind as she plunges from frantic ecstasy ("Gorgeous exotic turbulent swirls of snow. Magic. The world tingles. My brain sparkles, all things connect") to profound despair ("the absence-so present you can feel it, taste it, sometimes even heaven forbid, see it and hear it-of the good"). With firm but never facile faith, she offers hope to Christians with mental illness and understanding to those who live and work with them. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved