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A Cry of Absence: Reflections for the Winter of the Heart

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With so much attention paid to the "name it, claim it" prosperity Christianity, it is tremendously satisfying to find a pastoral message that says clearly, life is a cycle, and loss, pain, grief, and sorrow are as natural and healthy as the joy of the dawning of a new day. As a native Minnesotan, I especially appreciated reading the words of an "entrenched" Chicagoan on the unparalleled joy of the January thaw. When exposure to the elements of life is numbing, even capable of death, those moments when we can step unwrapped into that world and linger, and breathe deeply, are savored by Marty and craftfully rephrased in biblical and theological insight. Akin to Nouwen's _Wounded Healer_, this book is as encouraging to the caregiver as Brueggemann's _Finally Comes the Poet_ is to the preacher. Perhaps the greatest strength of _A Cry of Absence_ though, is its non-technical language and universal theme of quiet confidence in the presence of God even in the seeming absence, which makes it appealing to every reader.

A collection of essays reflecting on the existential meaning of suffering, this book offers only limited original insights not already found in countless Bible commentaries, theology texts or devotional literature. The author chooses to use a psychologically remote and emotionally disengaged third-person writing style, that removes much of the human personality from his writing on this highly personal subject. I find C. S. Lewis or John Goldingay much more engaging and provocative.