How can we as Christians take depression seriously? Ben Courson attempts to answer this question in this book with anecdotes and insights from his own struggle with depression.

I think it's very important to note that the author isn't a therapist and thus, the book doesn't dig very deep into scientific discoveries and medical/therapeutic treatment of depression. It doesn't attempt to replace a therapy and should not be used as that.

What I really appreciated about the book was that it didn't present depression as something that can simply be "prayed away" or is just a consequence of "not having enough faith".



Disclaimer: I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Young pastor and author Ben Courson writes about his own struggles with depression and thoughts of suicide, to offer hope, encouragement and direction for others who are also suffering. Courson reports he has battled against depression for over 15 years, but he is convinced that depression can actually be defeated.

Courson divides his book into three parts. In Part One, he examines both the clinical and personal information he has discovered about depression, including what light the Bible brings to bear on the commonality of depression and how God assists those who struggle with both temporary and long-term depression. Courson also focuses on the many Christians throughout history who have also dealt with depression, to challenge the erroneous idea that mature Christians should be depressed.

In Part Two, Courson offers eleven "weapons" to fight against the effects of depression on the mind, spirit and body, including exercise and other natural methods to boost endorphins, getting out of isolation and leaning on friends, and learning how to receive love from God. Finally, in Part Three, the author provides about 25 short devotional readings to provide hope and focus to depression sufferers --- for them to read on a regular basis.

This book provides the kind of personal experience and Scripture-based viewpoint on depression to offer substantial help to believers who struggle with feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts. The author shares in an honest yet light-hearted way about his own battles with his mind and brain, and helps readers to feel like there is real hope for any Christian who makes the effort to follow through on the thoughts and strategies provided in this helpful book. Highly recommended!

This book is very well written, but not for me.

I cannot get behind the whole idea of just deciding you will fight depression and defeat it. Putting a biblical spin on it does not make the “just move on because Jesus” mentality any more bearable.

Clinical depression is not something you can choose to get out of.

Full disclosure: I only read to chapter 9.

Ben Courson starts by telling us why he wrote this book: because there are twice as many suicides than murders in the United States, because we are not called to live with depression but to defeat it, because he has walked this road before and wants to share the hope he has found.

The meat of this book is in the second part, where Courson shares the various tools and practices that have helped him in defeating depression. I went into this a little skeptically because it started off rather Christian-counsellor (pray and read your Bible and everything will be okay). I’m not saying that God can’t heal, but I’m also wary because God doesn’t always heal. In fact, Courson does address this:
“Well-meaning people might tell you that the solution to your problem is right there in the Bible, but I’m here to say that it’s more complicated than that. So-called biblical counselors may be able to provide some relief to people with mild cases of depression, but when you are in psychological pain, you’ll need more than a spiritual Band-Aid.
And that’s perfectly okay.”

There’s a level-headed mix of faith and science in his eleven “weapons”. There is both very Christian-y stuff (dive deep into Scripture, hold on to heaven, letting God love on you) as well as medical stuff (exercise, stop wallowing in social media, go for therapy, take medication). He also goes for the slightly bizarre—having crazy adventures with your friends!

Part 3 is where things get a little disjointed. It felt like Courson had a bunch of thoughts and slapped them into a chapter each, jumping all over the place. I understand what he’s getting at though: If the Creator of this amazing universe knows the stars by name yet still loves and calls you by name, you should accept that He wants the best for you!

Courson circles back to a few central thoughts throughout the book—that God loves and cares for you, and a proper understanding of God’s love, who He really is (in spite of religion, despite Christianity), and what He wants for you will help you defeat depression. I’m slightly wary of the reshaping-consciousness-by-telling-yourself-truths thing (which feels a little positive-confession to me), but overall, the message is clear: we need to learn how to rest in God and accept his grace, whether that means you pray for healing or you head to the doctor’s, or both.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harvest House Publishers via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book started out well, I understood how desperate he was and how he felt his life was over. I enjoyed learning about how the author dealt with depression.and how he used exercise to help him learn to feel better physically and emotionally.
But when he started talking about 10,000 hours of working at a skill to enable him to master that skill and succeed, I felt that he was not dealing with depression and its effects anymore, but only on helping yourself to become proficient.

The story was confusing at best and the entire book was messy. I didn't understand much of it just that it spewed a lot of Christian references. Didn't finish the writing was poor and the plot was not well thought out.

I received this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I actually reached out for a copy, because I really appreciated the cover design and catchy title. Regrettably, it was a poor choice for me. I consider myself a mix of atheist and agnostic in my beliefs, so it wasn't a good move to choose a book that centered Christianity. Still, I tried to make an exception and try to experience a different type of literature than my usual without previous research on the author's background. It was impossible. However, I will try to remain as objective as possible while explaining why I didn't like the book.
The author's mission with the book is to 'rebel' against depression with hope, because depression, which he considers the root cause of suicide, leads to twice as many deaths as homicide in a year. He tries to do that in a very unorganized way, zigzagging through a variety of things, lacking organization. His strategies go from heavily quoting the Bible and comparing that to the reader's potential situation or mindset, to references of historical figures, to sharing journal-like personal stories in an attempt to connect with the reader. The problem in my view was that he is always communicating to a reader that is by default a Christian, which made it sound like depression was a problem plaguing only believers. What about a solution for the non-believers, or believers of different religions? How, I ask, would igniting hope be strategized then? In this case, religion in my eyes was highlighted mainly as an emotional crutch, and only in the middle of the book does the author begin to mention reasonable things like therapy, counseling, and medication, which to me were the only viable starter solution to serious matters such as depression. Depression is a mental condition, not a mood, that often requires medication and a drastic change in lifestyle for some. The small disclaimer at the beginning of the book will be forgotten very easily with this style of confident narrative, by examples that will tap easily in the belief system of many believers. I should have heeded the romanticizing of depression from the title via the word 'flirtation'. 'Living life with childlike wonder' is NOT a solution for depression and weaving a bunch of random examples together in an attempt to give the depressed reader 'hope' is NOT a good strategy for managing depression. At some point the book will dedicate a snippet or two to advocate for reading, the gratitude attitude, overuse of technology and distraction, but then when highlighting the importance of play it's at the expense of downsizing the more logical minds (mathematicians).. It felt more like an attempt to throw in some facts and to sound intelligent. If I was depressed, this book would not have helped me at all and it most certainly wouldn't have offered me any hope. People that suspect they may be suffering from depression need to seek out professional help, not delay or get distracted by other things. Period.