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Depression: A Stubborn Darkness--Light for the Path (VantagePoint Books) | 
 enlarge | Author: Edward T. Welch
Publisher: New Growth Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $8.98
You Save: $6.01 (40%)
New (23) Used (9) from $8.91
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 29290
Media: Paperback
Pages: 280
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0976230801
EAN: 9780976230809
ASIN: 0976230801
Publication Date: November 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Depression: A Stubborn Darkness is Dr. Edward T. Welch s latest release in a series of ground-breaking best-selling counseling books that include When People Are Big and God is Small, Blame It on the Brain?, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave. Now in its third printing, Welch continues to further his reputation as an author who can speak to general consumers in a language they intuitively connect with on a deeply personal level. Endorsed by Joni Eareckson Tada, and Bob Lepine of FamilyLife, this book is targeted to the 18 million adult Americans who struggle with depression. Compassionate and compelling, the book lays out issues and answers with Welch s world view that faith needs to be interlaced with therapies and medication for conditions categorized as strictly clinical. The author weaves in questions scattered throughout the book to help the reader interact with the content and also offers suggestions for those who have loved ones struggling with depression.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
perfect companion to someone suffering depression December 4, 2008
G. Phillips (NorthEast Ohio)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you suffer from depression, or love someone who does, this book goes a long way in showing the biblical applications to recovery. No where does it lay blame to depression on sin, but instead it does not matter why. The book tells how depression is pain and suffering. That God does not promise us happiness, but to help us and see us through. Not discounting the need or use for medication, it relates to the fact that accurate biblical understanding can go a long way to helping one through this book. A must read for pastor's and lay ministers.
Good Book August 20, 2008
Dwellin (Lincoln, NE)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have started reading books on depression, only to get bogged down soon after. From the beginning, this one knew what it was talking about. Short chapters, enough information to think over, and doesn't make a person feel guilty for having been depressed in the past.
 Very good June 29, 2007
Brian G Hedges (Niles, Michigan)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
"When you are depressed, how can you take a step, let alone a journey? When all vital energy is devoted to staying alive and just making it to the next hour, how can you add anything else - like hope - to your day?" So begins this wise and compassionate book by Ed Welch. Whether you are a someone who struggles with depression yourself, or someone who desires to help those who do, Depression: A Stubborn Darkness will prove an informed and biblically-faithful resource.
The book is divided into an introduction and four parts.
Introduction. The first three chapters are introductory and begin with an empathetic note, describing "How Depression Feels" (chapter two) with a number of actual statements from those who have experienced depression. This chapter will help give understanding to someone who has never personally battled with severe depression. "Definitions and Causes" are described in chapter three, which differentiates between "situational depression" (less severe) and "clinical depression" (more severe), along with lists of possible symptoms for each.
Part One: Depression is Suffering. The seven chapters making up part one are Godward and hopeful, reminding us that depression is a form of suffering out which we can cry out to God for comfort and purpose. Welch doesn't try to make depression look less painful than it is. He faces it head-on. But neither does he let the lying voices of depression claim the day. Instead, he points the reader to God and Scripture (especially the Psalms), with gentle and hopeful reminders of God's love and sovereignty.
Part Two: Listen to Depression. Part two is especially helpful as the various contributing causes of depression are explored. These include other people, "Adam," Satan (chapter eleven), and culture (chapter twelve). Chapter thirteen gets to "The Heart of Depression" showing that depression is a result not simply of the "outside events" that "come at us," but also our "internal believes and interpretations . . . that come out of us" (p. 123). To deal with depression we must learn to address the "spiritual allegiances" of our hearts" which give rise to imaginations, desires, motives, thoughts, feelings, and actions. "The curious path to true life" says Welch, "is to grow in both the knowledge of God's love and your own sin" (p. 131). Chapter fourteen continues with "The Heart Unveiled," with following chapters exploring other causes of and collaborators with depression such as fear, anger, dashed hopes, failure and shame, guilt and legalism, and death. With each of these, the author walks the reader through the fog of confused feelings onto the sure-footed path of biblical truth about sin and grace.
Part Three: Other Help and Advice. In part three, Welch discusses medical treatments (chapter twenty-one) and gives helpful advice for the families and friends of those who are suffering from depression (chapter twenty-two). "To help a depressed person, you don't need expert knowledge. You do need an awareness of your own spiritual neediness, a growing knowledge of Jesus, and an eagerness to learn from others, including the person you would like to help" (p. 224). A particularly great chapter follows called "What Has Helped." It contains helpful insights from counselees about what first helped them begin to change, along with some specific strategies to try. The goal of the chapter is not to give an endless to-do list, but rather to "prime the pump" by giving ideas and strategies that have actually been helpful for depressed people. Chapter twenty-four is another honest, yet hopeful, look at "What to Expect" as one continues to battle against depression.
Part Four: Hope and Joy: Thinking God's Thoughts. The book finishes with two chapters on Humility and Hope (chapter twenty-five) and Thankfulness and Joy (chapter twenty-six). Potential readers should not feel daunted by the twenty-six chapters; each chapter is short and Ed Welch is an engaging writer with an easy prose. It is obvious that Welch has done his research, but the book isn't cluttered by clinical language. More than anything, reading this book feels like getting good advice from an kind and caring friend. As a pastor who sometimes struggles with discouragement and sometimes counsels those with more severe forms of depression, I found this a grace-filled book, loaded with hope and wisdom. I highly recommend it.
Excellent resource for small group use March 11, 2007
F. Parris (Pennsylvania, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Insightful. Short chapters make it ideal for small group/support group use. Catalyst for discussion.
Top Drawer!!! Very challenging and encouraging. January 17, 2007
James P. Kypros (Clearwater, FL)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Ed Welch has been gifted by God to write in a humble yet powerful manner that grips the minds and consciences of those who read his works. His books including "Depression" challenge our thinking and actions with the authority of Scripture and at the same time he points out the great hope and encouragement that we have from the same Scriptures. He writes in a simple yet profound manner that does not draw attention to himself but directs the readers' attention where it should be: on God.
This is an excellent resource not only for those who struggle with "depression" but all people who go through difficulty and suffering in life. I guess that includes all of us.
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