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A review by kara4
When Darkness Seems My Closest Friend: Reflections on Life and Ministry with Depression by Mark Meynell
5.0
This book was hugely insightful for me on how someone suffering with depression feels, but also shines a light on how to involve myself when a family member or friend is walking this path. Practical and personal, Mark speaks to his own story, and I am thankful he was willing to “put himself out there”. In so many Christian circles, mental health is not being addressed, but it impacts so many in our society. We as a Christian body need to seek understanding, and keep an open path for each person to walk, learning how to best come alongside them. His descriptions of “the cave” and the “black dog” gave a very real representation of feelings for someone to better understand.
A few of my favorite quotes are:
1. “So on those worse days . . . ? I lack the energy to preach to, let alone hear, myself. It’s not laziness. It’s exhaustion from fighting the blizzard. For mental illness doesn’t simply make living the Christian life difficult; it makes living difficult.”
2. “If you know someone who’s depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather.
Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they’re going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It’s hard to be a friend to someone who’s depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do.”
And I loved these words Mark shared from a hymn by John Bode:
John E. Bode’s ‘O Jesus, I Have Promised’ (written in 1868):
O let me see thy footmarks,
and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
is in thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me,
uphold me to the end;
and then in heaven receive me,
my Saviour and my Friend.
So read this book if you suffer from depression, but especially read it anyway, as likely along your life journey, you will meet and befriend someone who is.
A few of my favorite quotes are:
1. “So on those worse days . . . ? I lack the energy to preach to, let alone hear, myself. It’s not laziness. It’s exhaustion from fighting the blizzard. For mental illness doesn’t simply make living the Christian life difficult; it makes living difficult.”
2. “If you know someone who’s depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather.
Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they’re going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It’s hard to be a friend to someone who’s depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do.”
And I loved these words Mark shared from a hymn by John Bode:
John E. Bode’s ‘O Jesus, I Have Promised’ (written in 1868):
O let me see thy footmarks,
and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
is in thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me,
uphold me to the end;
and then in heaven receive me,
my Saviour and my Friend.
So read this book if you suffer from depression, but especially read it anyway, as likely along your life journey, you will meet and befriend someone who is.