Book Review: Learning to Be

 

Learning to Be

Finding Your Center After the Bottom Falls Out

by Juanita Campbell Rasmus

InterVarsity Press 

IVP

 Christian  |  Religion & Spirituality 

Pub Date 15 Sep 2020 

I am reviewing a copy of Learning to Be: Finding Your Center After the Bottom Falls Out through InterVarsity Press and Netgalley:

It felt as if every nerve in her body was popping. It felt like large strong hands were slowly applying pressure while breaking a family-size package of uncooked, dry spaghetti.  Only Pastor Juanita was the spaghetti, breaking down one piece at a time.  This is how Juanita Rasmus begins the wise, frank, and witty account of what she later called "The Crash" and what her counselor labeled "a major depressive episode

In this book the author reminds us that depression  is more than just a diagnosis; depression becomes the mind’s default program. It becomes the way that the body and mind seek to cope in crisis. Depression is the result of a complex set of byproducts affecting the brain, including chemical imbalances, faulty mood regulation by the brain, or genetic vulnerability. 

In addition to exhaustion and depression, on the spiritual front she experienced a dark night of the soul. When everything in her life finally came to a stop, she found that she had to learn to be—with herself and with God—all over again. 

I give Learning to Be five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!