Lament for a Son [Paperback]

Nicholas Wolterstorff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1987

This book was written more than twelve years ago to honor the authors son Eric, who died in a mountain-climbing accident in Austria in his twenty-fifth year, and to voice Wolterstorffs grief. Though it is intensely personal, he decided to publish it in the hope that some of those who sit on the mourning bench for children would find his words giving voice to their own honoring and grieving. What he learned, to his surprise, is that in its particularity there is universality. Many who have lost children have written him. But many who have lost other relatives have done so as well, along with many who have experienced loss in forms other than the death of relatives or friends. The sharply particular words of Lament, so he has learned, give voice to the pain of many forms of loss. This book, Lament For A Son, has become a love-song. Every lament, after all, is a love-song. Will love-songs one day no longer be laments?

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Wolterstorff, a well-known Christian philosopher, lost his 25-year-old son to a mountain climbing accident. His reflections in the wake of that tragedy are at times deeply personal, but always he expresses a prayerful anguish with which most bereaved parents will identify. Above all he refuses to turn from the "demonic awfulness" of death and, as he moves faithfully through grief, discovers new meaning in the Beatitudes, together with a new understanding of a suffering God. Spiritually enriching and theologically substantive. EC
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Nicholas Wolterstorff is an American philosopher and currently the Noah Porter Emeritus Professor of Philosophical Theology at Yale University. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 111 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co; 1 edition (July 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080280294X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802802941
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Psychology & Christianity
  • #48 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Death & Grief > Grief & Bereavement

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words cannot express..., March 9, 2001

By 

M. Todd Hall (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lament for a Son (Paperback)

the impact that this book has had on me. I was 25 years old this past June 16(2000), when my wife Jennifer left this life. We had just had our first child, born April 21, 8 weeks to the day that Jennifer died. Since then, I have found comfort in a few works, such as C.S. Lewis' A GRIEF OBSERVED, but no work, not one, has impacted me like this one. Many's the time I have called my folks and quoted Mr. Wolterstorff saying "See, this is what I've been trying to say!"

This work is a must have for those who've lost. The pain of loss is inexpressable, it is all-encompassing and it is unavoidable. Wolterstorff presents grief in all of its detail, and if you've lost you'll find yourself more and more amazed as you find your thoughts and emotions expressed through his words.

I also believe that this work is indispensable for those in the care of souls. Through Wolterstorff's expression of grief you will find a taste of what that person to whom you minister feels, the loneliness, the despair, and the disappointment in the God whom they trust. If you are in ministry, you MUST get this book.

God's blessings and comfort to you all in your struggle.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book speaks to the struggle of grief like no other, October 18, 2001

By 

J "peacemover" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lament for a Son (Paperback)

Wolterstorff has written a brief, yet poingnantly reflective book on his journey through the valley of grief. He lost his 25 year-old son to a tragic mountain climbing accident, and wrote this book as he writes in the preface "to give voice to [his] grief." He continues "Though it is intensely personal, I have decided now to publish it, in the hope that it will be of help to some of those who find themselves with us in the company of mourners."

This book is powerfully moving and brought tears to my eyes when I first read it. Wolterstorff voices many of the often unspoken feelings that mourners go through- from intense sadness to anger, to questioning, to longing for the loved one whom has died.

His reflections are powerful yet concise, and he has written the book in the style of a journal- documenting his struggle to grieve and cope with the intense anger and sadness of losing his son. Ultimately he finds his faith to be his greatest source of comfort and strength, but not before a long journey through the dark wilderness of grief.

I have also found this book to be extremely comforting and helpful- both in coping with my personal losses, as well as for bereaved family members in the grief support group that I facilitate. This book should be required reading for ANYONE who has lost a loved one, or works with the bereaved or is close to someone who has lost a loved one. I highly recommend it.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only book that helped me in coping with the loss of my son, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lament for a Son (Paperback)

I lost my 26 year old son in April of 1999. I have read many grief books, but this one struck home in the author's poignantly honest expression of his grief and confusion. He holds out hope but gives full recognition to the pain, the regret, the deep agony that shakes our very souls when we experience this most terrible of losses. I keep my copy on my bedside table and return to it over and over, especially certain pages which I have marked as particularly meaningful to me.