Timothy Anglin Book Report

Bowen,D.E, & Strickler,S. L. (2004). A good friend for bad times: helping others through grief. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortess

The book is neither meant to be a theological treatise nor an academic exposition but a toolkit to unleash human potentials; a resource for intervention in dealing with human life hurts and as a channel of Gods healing and liberation through Jesus Christ.

Ann Byle analyzes and describes the memoir written by Danny Gokey, Hope in Front of Me: Find Purpose in Your Darkest Moments, about the difficulties Gokey faced with his hope and will to live after losing his wife, Sophia, in 2007. ¨Gokey writes about the hopelessness [h]e felt when he lost Sophia, his depression, and how close he came to ending his life.¨ (Byle 1). Thereafter, facing the devastation of losing his wife, he found comfort in God. Danny found meaning in his life once again after starting Sophia’s Heart Foundation, a foundation that focuses on providing relief for the homeless in the Nashville area. The organization has provided shelter and basic supplies for people who have fallen into hard times since 2008. Gokey has found joy and rediscovered himself after facing the misery and grief of losing his wife in helping others who are struggling, as he once

A woman name Angela Hundley and her family were away on a family vacation in the Dominican Republic. While there Angela ate fish that caused her to become very ill. Two weeks after they returned home from their vacation she was diagnosed with ciguatera poisoning. She could not open her eyes or lift her head. The doctor informed the family that the poisoning was untreatable, and an incurable. Angela felt like she was in a comma, she couldn’t move but she could hear everything. She could hear her children playing but she couldn’t play with them. She remembers her husband taking her to her church for prayer and at the alter she recalls her pastor asking her “Angela have you thanked God through any of this, even if you don’t see another day,

The human experience is what connects people to one another. What we experience defines who we are and who we become. It also defines how we interact with others. The amazing thing is that not only do the events that bring joy, peace and happiness connect us but also those that bring anxiety, fear and despair. This brings to light the fact that God somehow in his sovereignty uses all things for the good of those who love Him. These ideas are brought to light in Jerry Sittser’s book, A Grace Disguised which is his personal journey of loss and the insight and experience that was gained in the face of great tragedy. In his book, Sittser discusses various insights he has gained, such as how Christian’s view sorrow, how families recover when

Others may not consider the pastoral caregiver maybe going through their own physical or emotional stresses. Dykstra stated, “Over time, the sheer accumulation of these kinds of encounters began to take their toll on my faith and ministry. In the face of steady exposure to tragedy and death, I began not only to doubt whether I had anything of substance to offer the victim and their families, but also to question god’s loving and faithful nature that I had previously taken for granted.” I have learned that pastoral caregivers are human not super human. They have strengths and weaknesses like everyone else. I also gained a true sense of what it takes to be a pastoral care

Reading this book has been interesting and heartbreaking experience. A Year of Magical Thinking, a journey through the grieving process. While dealing with the death of her husband, she is confronted with the sickness of her only child. This book touches me, and it makes me think of what would happen if my loved one died. This paper is a reflection of my thoughts and feelings about this woman’s journey that has been explored by book and video. I will also explore the author’s adjustment process, and how she views her changed self.

It is safe to assume that the author is no stranger to death. He has seen many people close to him grieve. He has noticed that everyone grieves differently. He understands the need for God’s grace in the midst of grief to get one through the stages of grief.

Cynthia Johnson is a 26-year-old single woman from Birmingham, Alabama. Has 5 children from non-marriages with different fathers. Not having received a high school or college education she can’t obtain a proper job to take care of her children. At an early age she became all to familiar with the idea of grief. Because of this reoccurring history of grief, Cynthia suffers with severe depression, has a history of substance abuse, and an overall unhealthy life style.

Marriage is a long lasting relationship. This eternity love cannot break or torn apart from hash weather, budget… but what about an abusive husband? The short story “runaways" describes a young female suffers from her spousal relationship. The abusive husband shatters the family apart leaving an unstable life for the mother and kids. Through her adventure abscond from her husband, she regains hopes and dream; hope: a place to settle, dream: where she could be loved again. The author Karen Brennan’s short story "runaways” displays words with connotative meaning, and symbols to reveal her opinion that if we have hope we can achieve our dreams.

Cynthia Johnson is a 26-year-old single woman from Birmingham, Alabama. Being young herself, she takes care of her 5 children from non-marriages with different fathers. Not having a high school or college education, it is hard to obtain a proper job to take care of her children. At an early age, she became all too familiar with the idea of grief. Because of this reoccurring history of grief, Cynthia suffers with severe depression, has a history of substance abuse, and an overall unhealthy lifestyle.

Every child has a different perspective on life, a different idea on where it begins and where it ends. Change for the better is beneficial in some cases, others not so much. In life, a child should expect to lose their parents at one point, but it’s never expected for a parent to lose their child. Neither one of these instants are easy, but more recently this generation is struggling with religious uncertainty. In “Elegy for My Father, Who is Not Dead,” Andrew Hudgins paints the perfect example of the difference between the generations and their religious beliefs.

this novel tells a mother’s account of her child’s life, and the moments leading up to its end, conveying the message of what God’s grace - and therefore the belief in - is capable of in the most hopeless of situations

A testament to the power of persistent and unmitigated faith in God, Shelly Kaufman’s debut novel A Life Established by Faith and Patience shares the story of her life’s trials, tribulations, and successes, in turn demonstrating how her reliance and belief in God’s plans for her life, led her to finding serenity and spiritual victory.

Mothers find hope in their beliefs not only for themselves, but also for their children. Danticat’s story “Night Women” shows a mother clinging onto the hope that her faith gives her for herself and her