About the Book:
What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety,
or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental
illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and
“pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the
ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world,
you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you.
You just want a way out.
But there’s hope.
In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah
J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for
Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty,
Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive
despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the
church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health
research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God
who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth
everything it takes to get better.
Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
My Review:
I read this book for a couple of reasons. One, I had OCD for nearly 30 years; I had some depressive episodes along the way. Two years ago I was set free! Additionally, I know people who struggle with depression as I am a teacher. Being curious, I wanted to see how the author approached the topic. There were things I identified with either for myself or on behalf of others. The author is very good at relating to the reader and expressing the heartache of what she has and continues to go through. There are many things that are helpful to the reader such as meditating on Scripture, waiting on the Lord to show passages or verses that are specifically helpful to us, and believing that the Lord loves us (He created us).
However, there were things that also made an appearance into the book that are not Christian and are clearly anti-Christian such as mindfulness, yoga, and making the following statements about God in her notes section in the back: "God is much more than male; after all, he is spirit and doesn't possess a gendered body. Scripture is full of beautiful, feminine descriptions of God." Jesus Christ is certainly not female and God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all One. The note correlates to this at the beginning of the book: "For that reason, and many others, assigning a gender to the God who created both male and female as equal image bearers is uncomfortable for many. That said, I've chosen to speak about God in traditional ways, including masculine pronouns, though I acknowledge that may be difficult for believers with different backgrounds and faith experiences. I've done this because it is most familiar to the majority of my readers as well as me. If this is foreign or strange to you, please keep in mind that all our little words are simply signposts pointing to a God whose fullness defies description."
There are things that can be helpful in the book, but there are things that are not Biblical. Please just be aware if you read this book.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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