SPIRITUALITY & RELIGION

Companions in Suffering: Comfort for Times of Loss and Loneliness

by Wendy Alsup
IVP. Jun. 2020. 192p. ISBN 9780830845866. pap. $16. REL
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Is there any comfort for Christians who experience chronic pain or suffering? Alsup (Is the Bible Good for Women?) uses her personal experience dealing with miscarriage, a divorce, breast cancer, and numerous surgeries to offer advice to others. Her purpose is to walk alongside those living with emotional or physical pain or suffering by providing encouragement and direction, partly from personal insights but primarily through scripture. She notes that the Bible focuses significant attention to suffering, and draws on figures such as Jesus, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, while also focusing on the psalms of David and Asaph. Alsup’s interest is not in providing answers to the question of human suffering, but rather in helping others to see their experiences in a broader theological context.
VERDICT People interested in theodicy and readers who live with chronic pain, or work with those experiencing it, will find this meditative book helpful.
Reviewed by John Jaeger, Johnson Univ., Knoxville, TN , May 01, 2020
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