7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Straightforward Solutions For Tough Problems, January 25, 2003
This review is from: Real Solutions for Overcoming Discouragement, Rejection, and the Blues (Paperback)
I didn't know who H. Norman Wright was when I first picked up this book. But the title looked like something that was relevant to many situations and struggles I've faced in my own life as well as the kind of struggles that are all-too common in today's world.
Whether you're struggling with clinical depression, a minor case of the blues, or fear of rejection by others, this book has some very important things to say. Probably more than anything else though, this book is a cure for the common Pity Party. Mr. Wright points out, and rightly so, on page 94, "Another benefit of the blues is feeling sorry for yourself."
Although the principles in the book are Scripturally based, the author does a very good job of always maintaining a healthy balance between writing his own book and filling in blanks with Scripture. The Scripture passages he uses are very helpful, but he doesn't try to "church" the reader to death. Also, the author writes this book for the layperson. There's nothing in this book that's too complicated to understand.
At many places in the book, Mr. Wright may merely identify the general cause of the blues, and by so doing, I was left thinking, "Yeah, that makes plenty of sense. That's exactly where I'm at!" Then there were other places in the book in which the author seemed to know my most secret thoughts and most personal struggles. Chapter 8 hit me the hardest. Therein, the author identified some major problems in my own life that I guess I always knew were there but really didn't want to admit as problems. (Even as I type this review, I still don't want to admit it, but I know I must.) This chapter, which concentrated on relationships, helped shed some light on things that I've been doing wrong...things which on the surface sound good, decent, and well-intentioned. But the author offered clear, fundamental reasons why these things were unhealthy.
And that brings me to a very important point I'd like to make about this book. Although it offers pleanty of encouragement and comfort, it is by no means simply a book in which an author puts his tender hand on someone having a pity party and saying, "There, there" the whole time. Quite often Mr. Wright just states it how it is, leaving the reader feeling challeneged and possibly uneasy. But sometimes the only way to be cured of something is to first feel the prick of the needle that delivers the vaccine.
The cures and treatments in the book are usually quite simple (except for clinical depression which may require counseling and possibly prescribed medication). They usually consist of repeating statements about oneself, out loud, which reinforces a positive mental self-image. Moreover, the statements are well-grounded in Scripture and point to the fact that in the eyes of the Savior/Creator we need never be discouraged (particularly the ones found on pages 44; 95-96). Now, I know that doing this may make one feel kind of ridiculous at first, especially if you've seen as many of Saturday Night Live's "Stuart Smalley" skits as I have. But doing this actually does produce positive results.
Several different passages of the book I thought interesting enough to underline included
"Who we are today is a product of how we remember our past events." (18)
"Remember that God has already declared us to be sufficient enough through what he has done for us through Jesus Christ." (11)
"When we're discouraged, we don't have hope. But hope is an antidote to discouragement." (19)
"When we relate to...Jesus Christ by faith, we have the potential for inner wholeness." (37)
"Whenever you're sad or blue or discouraged, ask yourself the comparative question: What would I be thinking if I were basing this on a positive truth? Then write it down. That's what to concentrate on." (97)
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