Learning to Live with Depression

Learning to Live with Depression
By Elaine Brown
Christian Focus Publications. 79 pages.
ISBN 185792186 0

This book relates a personal account of depressive illness. It is easy to read and follows the author's troubles through a year and a half. Eventually she commences anti-depressants and begins to recover. It has been written to give comfort to those suffering from depressive illness and also to inform would-be counsellors. Herein lies the problem.
Depression is an intensely personal illness, which limits the benefit of individual accounts unless leading on to develop a theology of suffering. This doesn't. It is so man-centred and theologically unbalanced as to constitute little more than spiritualised psychology; the inevitable result of the church falling for the spirit of the age and very typical of the counselling movement. Scripture is, as expected, quoted out of context. Therefore, although there are some valuable insights, few who read this will be any the wiser regarding the profound theological issues raised by illness and suffering.
Contrary to the author's intent, the message of this book to me is this: cut out the spiritual psycho-babble, seek professional help and finally develop a biblical theology of suffering.

J.M. Leggett, FRCS

© Evangelicals Now - February 1998
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