This book intersects spirituality and mental health, which has been sorely lacking in the Christian book section of the bookstore. This is also the intersection of the dissertation I will write in a few years for my doctoral program.

From the description, this books seemed made for me in MANY ways. I was so excited to read it! However, sadly, I found it to be boring... it just didn't seem to match the description, and though perhaps.... fine.... for what it is, it left me wanting much more (aka wanting it to be more in line with its own description).

I’m afraid this wasn’t for me and I did not finish this one. There was more of an undercurrent around faith and similar concepts than I expected, and I found I was unable to mesh with it. This is no fault of the book itself; I believe I am simply the wrong person for this book. I think the right person will find something helpful here, but I’d recommend checking out a preview so you can get a sense of whether it’ll work for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this book. Holly Oxhandler writes with expertise and knowledge, incorporating research and personal experience. I value the way she utilizes themes and aspects of various spiritual traditions and the overall warmth and empathy I felt while reading this book. I will recommend this to all my helping professional friends and social work colleagues. Great work by Oxhandler and I'm excited to see what's next for her.

This is a really special book for anyone who values the chance to be a safe, caring presence for others. As a social worker I found valuable information and meaningful content from start to finish. There is a very gentle accountability to this book. The author consistently returns to the ways a helper has to care for themselves, and she’s does this artfully. I’m so happy to have read this book, and I look forward to sharing it with my fellow helpers.