Depression, anxiety, and other things we don't want to talk about

Ordained pastor and licensed therapist Waller knows whereof he writes. Using a compassionate and often humorous touch, he outlines the history of his own battles with depression. Mental illness still carries a stigma for Christians who believe that faith will cure them. To tell someone they shouldn't be depressed because they "have Jesus" is a deep misreading of scripture, Waller writes. Mental health is not so much affected by what happens to us as it is by how we interpret what happens. Defining and diagnosing mental illness, he concedes, is more ambiguous. He observes that the church still struggles to allow space to acknowledge the existence of mental illness and to compassionately support sufferers. While science could do more to understand and treat mental illness, the church could play a more helpful role. Waller doesn't shy away from discussing suicide, dispelling myths and offering hope to those who have endured such tragedy. In simple language, he describes approaches available for treating mental illness. A long-overdue resource for Christians who are struggling to deal with or understand mental illness.