Shades of Light

"I was desperate. . . . I couldn't turn off the dark thoughts, no matter how hard I tried or how much I prayed. And then I spent a whole weekend in bed, and the crying wouldn't stop, and I got really scared. I've had bouts with depression before—it's kind of a cloud I've learned to live with—but this time was different. I felt like I was going under, like I'd never feel hopeful again, and then that just made my anxiety worse and it all spiraled from there."Wren Crawford is a social worker who finds herself overwhelmed with the troubles of the world. Her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression are starting to overcome her. She finds solace in art, spiritual formation, and pastoral care along with traditional therapeutic interventions. But a complicated relationship from her past also threatens to undo her progress. Fans of Sharon Brown's bestselling Sensible Shoes Series will be delighted to discover some old friends along the way. As Wren seeks healing in this beautifully written novel, readers are invited to move beyond pat answers and shallow theology into an experience of hope and presence that illuminates even the darkness.



Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and cofounder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats and resources. She is the author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes Series, which includes spiritual fiction novels Sensible Shoes, Two Steps Forward, Barefoot, An Extra Mile, and their study guides. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Sharon has served on the pastoral staff of congregations in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and most recently in West Michigan, where she copastored with her husband, Jack, for many years.

Part 1: Even There


Part 2: Worn Out


Part 3: Keeping Watch


Part 4: Even the Darkness


Acknowledgments


Recommended Resources


List of Vincent van Gogh Works

"This novel skillfully tackles the dark topics of depression and suicide as well as the often misguided way Christians treat mental illness. It asks the hard questions such as how one should support a loved one who deals with this disease and what to do when our best intentions are ineffective in providing help and solace. Beautiful and haunting, Shades of Light is a heart-wrenching and necessary read that ultimately offers hope."



"Christians have not done well with the subject of mental illness. There is a great deal of stigma around the therapy process, calling people's struggles 'a lack of faith' or 'sin in their life.' This marvelous book courageously unveils the reality of psychological struggle even among people of faith, pointing us to the Jesus who keeps company with us in everything that is hard—a companion in sorrow. Thank you, Sharon, for this work that I predict will be healing to many."



"What a consolation this novel will be for those who have known the darkness! Too often church people approach mental illness with fear, simplistic theology, and useless spiritual bromides. By telling Wren's story, Sharon Garlough Brown instead gently welcomes us into a companionship of sorrow where we can glimpse the dark beauties of grace. There's bracing truth here about the stubbornness of mental illness, the spiritual and practical implications, the helpless ache of those who love but can't fix. But there's also beauty of soul, which emerges for readers through Wren's sensitive dwelling in the paintings and writings of Vincent van Gogh. And as we learn to dwell in Wren's world, to enter that circle of sorrow, we find at the center of it the compassionate, Gethsemane presence of Christ."



"Brown's evocative prose . . . is both heartbreaking and enthralling. This emotionally harrowing story will appeal to fans of Karen Kingsbury." weniger anzeigen expand_less