Wesley Dowler

Finding Purpose Beyond our Pain

Posted on 01. Nov, 2009 by Wesley in Book Reviews, Thomas Nelson, Uncategorized

Finding Purpose Beyond our Pain explores the how we should deal with the less than perfect aspects of life. It is a practical book because it does not primarily focus on why evil is in the world or how an afterlife will justify pain; rather, it tries to determine what people should do given the fact suffering does occur. Being written by two psychiatrists (Paul Meier, MD and David Livingstone, MD), the book offers many personal examples (from clients) to explain the advice offered. It suggests their are seven universal struggles: injustice, rejection, loneliness, loss, discipline, failure, and death. The book takes on each of these topics and finds alternative ways to address them.

This book was impressive because it took a very practical view on each topic. It prefaced defining the faulty foundation of our society, which prevents us from being able to deal with suffering: a sense of entitlement, leading to blame. The next step involved defining revealed attributes of God and how injustices are not only rectified, but necessary, for his unconditional love. The authors quote C.S. Lewis: “If you look for comfort rather than truth, you will end up with neither.” The perspective they offer follows this advice; they show how rejection should lead to introspection and how we wrongfully perceive injustice, among many other things. The personal style of the book appropriately conveys the truth they have found through their work as psychiatrists.