Psalms and Compassions: A Jesuit's Journey Through Cancer

Personal connections to the author and publisher aside, I truly feel that this book stands on its own as a message of hope and comfort to individuals and families facing health crises. Though based on and geared toward experiences with cancer, the prayers, passages, and reflections compiled in Psalms and Compassions easily apply to other illnesses, conditions, and aspects of life. I personally have found it immensely helpful in literally "keeping the Faith" during a 5-year struggle with chronic pain, as well as more acute issues along the way. Fr. Brown's journal entries and the selections that correspond speak the journey from despair to hope, strength, and conviction that arises from life's darkest moments if we but open our hearts to God. It is said that one must "...never take away another's hope; it may be all they have." For those who struggle to understand, "Why me?", and who search for hope... here it is, just turn the pages and begin the discovery. The essence of this book is contained in the first and last pages. The challenge to "Stand strong. Breathe hope. Live faith." is the very root of facing serious illness in the Catholic Christian mindset, and Fr. Brown's closing (his final blessing from Mass) reiterates that sentiment with a resounding sense of peace and purpose in facing another day and whatever it may bring.