Matt clung tenaciously to the Gospel the entire time. He was most definitely a Christian even while struggling with some serious depression.

Thanks for the review Trevin. Hopefully Matt’s story can help others who struggle to find victory through the Gospel and Christ centered community with other believers. And as you said, it can help those of us who have never struggled with depression in this way to get a taste of what it must be like, which will help us better shepherd those under our care who suffer in this way.

I rejoice for you, but don’t be too quick to conclude that a true Christian can’t suffer depression. I friends who believe far more completely than I can with all my doubts, who also have bipolar disorder. Two of them have been in a suicidal state, and one actually attempted suicide. There’s an awful lot of voodoo in the mental health community IMHO, and you are absolutely right that if Christ lifts us out of ourselves, we’ll be too busy with others to get depressed about ourselves.

But I think at least some mental illness is due to the fallen world in which we live, not just the fallenness of the individual. I’d hate for you to beat yourself–or anyone else–up just because you’re not totally “victorious.”

And hey, Trevin’s right, the bubbly froth that passes for worship these days depresses ME, and I have no history of mental illness!

That’s just it. Matt believed in the gospel – robustly. You might say that his belief in the gospel is what kept him connected to a community of believers and through which he finally found deliverance.

Do not think that the book is full of self-pity. Matt tries to explain his thought processes so that those of us who have never struggled with depression can step into his shoes for a few brief moments. To feel a little bit of what he felt. To think a little of what he thought.

I recommend the book for its unflinching look at depression and deliverance.