Book Review: Voices of Lament

 

Voices of Lament

Reflections on Brokenness and Hope in a World Longing for Justice

by Edited by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

Pub Date 20 Sep 2022 

 Revell 

Christian

I am reviewing a copy of Voices of Lament through Revell and Netgalley:

In our culture the emphasis is on being happy.  Those who smile through the pain , who pretended everything is fine.   We reward those who compartmentalize grief and get on with life. But everything's not fine. And God does not expect us to pretend it is. He wants all of us--including our pain.

Perhaps there is no where in scripture that we get the heights and depths of the human experience than the Psalms.

The outpourings of emotion never shy away from the darkest moments of life, and yet they also point toward the light--toward the God in whom we place our hope. 

Inspired by Psalm 37, Voices of Lament is a powerful collection of reflections from Christian Women of Color on themes of injustice, heartache, and deep suffering. Their essays, prayers, poems, and liturgies lay bare the experiences of the oppressed even as they draw us into deeper intimacy with God and a more fulsome understanding of each other. 

For anyone who longs to better express and understand the beauty of lament held in holy tension with hope and love, this extraordinary collection presents both well-known and new voices from various ethnic and people groups and different generations, putting God's faithfulness on full and glorious display.

I give Voices of Lament five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!