SUFFERING RESOURCES

See also the topic Depression in the Encyclopedia.

WEBSITES

Compassion Books
Here are some 400 books and resources to help children, teens, and adults deal with serious illness, death, grief, and bereavement.

Grief Companion

Teen Central

This site is developed by KidsPeace, dedicated to helping older children and teens deal with crisis in their lives. At TeenCentral young people can ask advice or seek comfort from other teens using an anonymous codename. There are great benefits and limitation to peer counseling, of course.


BOOKS

Borgman, Dean. (2003). "Theology of Suffering," Hear My Story: Understanding the Cries of Troubled Youth, Hendrickson Publishers, pp 113-138.

Duke, H.O. (1991). Where is God when bad things happen? St. Meinrad, IN: Abbey Press. This is a gutsy struggle with the problem of suffering using the instance of children who call out to mother and God while being sexually molested.

Eareckson, J. & Musser, J. (1976). Joni. New York City: Bantam Books. A beautiful young woman struggles with the pain and suffering of being confined to a wheelchair for life after a swimming accident. This could be a hopeful book for young sufferers.

Fitzgerald, Helen. (2000) The Grieving Teen: A Guide for Teenagers and their Friends. New York: Simon & Schuster. A renowned counselor writes about and for teens in grief.

Gootman, Marilyn E. (1994) When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens about Grieving and Healing. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. A quick and helpful read for teens who have lost a friend.

Kushner, H.S. (1981). When bad things happen to good people. New York City: Schocken Books. A popular classic on the "why" of suffering and a provocative introduction to the problem.

Lewis, C.S. (1961) A Grief Observed. London: N.W. Clerk. A confirmed bachelor finally met a woman he loved, Joy Davidman. Four wonderfully happy years later, she died. In his inconsolable grief, the famous writer began a journal with God. This journal described his struggle to regain life.

Lewis, C.S. (2001). The Problem of Pain. HarperSanFrancisco.
Seeks to answer the universal question, "Why would an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference with a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest.

Morgan, John D. (1998) The Dying and the Bereaved Teenager. The Charles Press. This book provides guidelines for dealing wtih death, suicide, and major transitions in school and family settings.

Murphree, J.T. (1981). A loving God and a suffering world: A new look at an old problem. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. A logical and readable treatment of the problem which looks at the meaning and retrictions of omnipotence, freedom, accidents, natural disasters, and the nature of goodness and evil. Suitable for young adults.

Schaeffer, E. (1978). Affliction. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell. A compassionate Christian look at understanding the reality of pain and suffering in our lives.

Sittser, Gerald L. (1998) A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. This book has been a great help to many desperately grieving persons. When an accident took his wife, child, and mother, this author felt forced to make some kind of sense of it and to find an extraordinary comfort.

Soelle, D. (1975). Suffering. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. A theological reflection on the causes and meaning of suffering: how it can be eliminated and how it may make us more human.

Spencer, W. & A. (1994). Joy through the night: Biblical resources for suffering people. Downers Grove: IVPress. A Biblical study dealing with the reasons for suffering and responses to different reasons for suffering with numerous illustrations. Highlights the goodness and omnipotence of God with the free will of human beings.

Vanauken, S. (1977). A Severe Mercy. New York City: Harper and Row. The story of C.S. Lewis’ great love and suffering in the loss of his wife. Included are 18 letters by C.S. Lewis.

Yancey, P. (1988). Disappointment with God. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Unlike Kushner, Yancey believes that God does have something to do with evil and tragic events that can happen.

Dean Borgman cCYS