What We Find in the Dark begins with these words of confession from author Aubrey Sampson: "These pages are filled with a sometimes unrelenting heartache and a painfully honest brawl with God. But they are also filled with my reach for hope and God's presence in absence." If you're looking for a painfully honest and personal journey with grief, Aubrey's story may help you feel less alone. If you're dealing with fresh grief, you may need to skip parts to come back to later. Either way, her book is a beautiful testimony of hope: "If you wrestle with God, grief can become a garden."

I think I’m aware I’ve been growing ice inside me after the double loss of my closest family: my father and my uncle. I am conscious of my pent-up anger and grief. I’m aware, but I also have no idea how to melt that ice.

Reading this book feels like a warm hug. It’s nice to acknowledge my pretending. It's comforting to know that others who are grieving are going through the same journey as me. It’s nice to be reminded to be gentle with myself. And to know that even in the darkest night, God is always with me.

This is one of the most helpful books on grief that I have ever read! This book is honest and raw, but full of hope and healing.

In "What We Find in the Dark," Aubrey Sampson writes with thoughtful tenderness, offering readers a guide to discover glimmers of hope amid life’s deepest sorrows. Through her firsthand experiences of grief and lament, she vulnerably explores what it means to seek God when His presence feels absent. Her words gently remind us that even in the darkest places, we are not alone. This book is a heartfelt companion for anyone longing to find meaning, healing, and divine presence in the midst of loss.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc. This is a stunning book charting a course and guide through the darkness of grief with brutal honesty that leaves hope behind. A must read for anyone in pain.

“You are healing even as you are hurting,” writes Aubrey Sampson—and then she leads readers both into, and out of, the abyss to which loss took her. By her own example, Aubrey gives us all the liberty to grieve uniquely, profoundly, and for however long it takes. I believe this book is so powerful because it’s not a formulaic “how-to.” Instead, it’s an experiential guide through blinding darkness. Sampson’s intimate chronology of her bone-aching sorrow roused pockets of my own unfinished griefs. And in her voice-giving of raw pain, her tender acceptance of it, and the grace she offers for the process of healing, my own heartaches mended a bit more. This book brought me to the very best of tears.

Darkness, dark night of the soul…midnight. Need a bit of light to help you navigate your way through grief? This book will offer you kindness and comfort through some of your darkest days.

“Grief is its own kind of pilgrimage. Your job, when you are ready, is to start looking. Notice the ways God is coming toward you in the darkness with love.”