Released in the UK November 2015
Released in the US January 2016
Trade paperback | 144 Pages
9781781915387 • £6.99 $9.99
BISAC – REL012120
Christians should have the answers, shouldn’t they? Depression affects many people both personally and through the ones we love. Here Zack Eswine draws from C.H Spurgeon, ‘the Prince of Preachers’ experience to encourage us. What Spurgeon found in his darkness can serve as a light in our own darkness. Zack Eswine brings you here, not a self–help guide, rather ‘a handwritten note of one who wishes you well.’
Zack Eswine
Zack Eswine is the Senior Pastor at the Riverside Church and Director of Homiletics at Covenant Theological Seminary, both in St Louis, Missouri. A list of his writings can be found at zackeswine.com.
9781781915851 |
9781845501518 |
9781781913291 |
9781845501174 |
I like Zack Eswine's writing.
In Spurgeon's Sorrows Eswine sensitively considers the experience of depression, using Charles Spurgeon's experiences and writings as a reference point. Such are the variations in depression I'm loathe to generalise or make it look like there are universal treatments that will bring relief. It's not a long book, but it is sensitive and constructive
Spurgeon's Sorrows is biography meets pastoral exhortation. In taking us through the suffering of CH Spurgeon, Eswine encourages the reader to heed the words and life of this hero of the faith. Pastors deal with enormous emotional struggles by bearing the burdens of an entire flock and standing on the frontline of spiritual warfare. Couple that with personal tragedy and a predisposed temperament towards melancholy and the struggle grows exponentially. Enter Charles Spurgeon.
Eswine uses the events of Spurgeon's life and ministry to help the reader try to understand depression, to help those with depression, and to cope with it ourselves. This book is full of wisdom and grace and will serve the Church well. It is short and easy to read and deserves a broad audience. Spurgeon's Sorrows bears the subtitle of "Realistic Hope for those who Suffer from Depression." It offers that and so much more.
You can almost taste Spurgeon's tears in this book... Eswine's gentle, poetic, unmasking of Spurgeon's inner turmoil may become a soothing balm for your soul. It may not heal you, but a healthy empathy emerges when you read about the struggles of a man who has walked down the same dark alleys you stumble along, and somehow found God in the valley of despair. If you don't struggle with depression yourself, it will help you love those who do!
Jeremy McQuoid
Teaching Pastor, Deeside Christian Fellowship, Aberdeen, Scotland and Chair of Council, Keswick Ministries
The words 'realistic hope' are in the subtitle, and that is exactly what this book offers. The writing style is winsome and the way he frames Spurgeon's quotes almost make it sound as if the great man was writing last week.
The Evangelical Magazine
Published by Evangelical Movement of Wales