Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope

Sister Joan's battle with "struggle is neither endurance nor denial..." She begins with the chapter, "Struggle of Change" as a private battle! Then she carries us through her process of the Gifts of Conversion, Faith, Courage, Independence, Limitations, Darkness, Surrender, Endurance, Struggle of Scarring... Finally comes the essence of her Old Testament Theme: "Wrestling with God" to her Big chapters into Hope! Most of these chapters have progressed from her private battle becoming the Public Battle in her awesome experience. Thus the chief reason for Prof Walter Brueggemann describing her as "One Fearsome Lady!" Upon arriving in my second reading of her chapter on "The Gift of Independence, I was caught-up by her graphic short sentences descibing Independence: "We can dream again... We can go on without learning or withering. Isolation erodes spiritual independence... But the truth remains. Nothing lasts! At its healthiest, the human spirit is irrepressible and the human heart seeks hope!" What a tremendous statement of spiritual optimism! She concludes her key chapter with an agreement, noted in other reviews, that she no longer writes fiction but a great number of other things and has loved every minute of it. As introduction to her hopeful thoughts she quotes the Persian mystical poet Rumi: "I saw God drinking a cup of sorrow and called out, "It tastes sweet, does it not?' "You've caught me, Grief answered, "And you've ruined my business. How can I sell sorrow when you know it's a blessing?" What an astonishing spiritual Revelation of Renewal for Lent... Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood

I was skeptical when reading the summary of the book, because Dr. Chittister writes about how the book was derived from her suffering at not being able to attend a writing program. My initial thought was that it was not a significant setback, in comparison to what I was dealing with when I purchased it. It surprised me too that this would be her "difficult" experience on which she focused, as she has confronted many severe challenges: polio as a young woman, and caring for a mother with Alzheimers' for 28 years are two examples. Besides formal education on writing being over rated, she is now a famous author. I also have a natural aversion to books that seem like self-help writing. However, once I started this book, I could not put it down until I finished it. Thank you Dr. Chittister. The beauty of the book is that she does not dwell on why people on suffering, and how badly they hurt; if the pain is warranted considering the setback's implications for the grander scheme of life. She takes the simple premise that something hurts you and these are the some of the feelings that confront you and your reactions towards life as a result; key among these topics are isolation, exhaustion, and hopelessness. She discusses positive and negative tendencies that these feelings motivate. Isolation is not always a bad thing, but it can be detrimental for healing when it becoems a way of life. Likewise, thinking about the past has benefits because it can offer hope but it also can entrap you, depending on your mentality. It is normal to be tired, but are you sleeping too much from depression, rather than physical need? Friends are blessings in time of despair, but are you losing ability or the will to make decisions for yourself? She discusses the book as an attempt to outline the "spirituality of struggle," and this is a perfect description for it. She rejects the notion of God as a grand puppeteer and does not tell you that "it all happens for a good reason," but she does offer advice that helps you navigate the emotional turmoil that accompanies disappointment in life, by illustrating the pitfalls and benefits of seemingly negative feelings, which enables to reader to be aware of zones that impede the healing process, and her insight helps the reader learn much about recognizing areas in which s/he can grow stronger in the process, in order to minimize the scarring. It is not a new theme to say that suffering can make us purer or stronger; many writers form religious and philosophical background have said this before. Nietzsche too (roughly) said "If it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger." But this information is not very helpful to people who are truly hurting, and can't help but ask, "Why do I need to be this strong in life, when my life is not extraordinary." Dr. Chittister's approach is original in that rather than offer vague terms that it is all for the better and all God's will, she says through these emotional struggles, and she devotes a ch

There are lines in books so penetrating that we rush to underline them, trying to hold on to the feeling they evoke in us. In Chittister's "Scarred by Struggle," nearly every single line is worthy of highlighting. I have read many, many good spiritual books, but none compare to this. For those who unexpectedly find themselves wrapped in darkness, suffocating from dread, and feeling as if they will drown in all of it, Chittister's words will save you. One knows that she has been tossed to this place called "nowhere," against her own will, and very slowly climbed out. What she says and the rare eloquence with which she speaks will be a miracle to those who need to find a way to hold on. The beauty of the book is that Chittister doesn't give easy answers to difficult questions -- rather she defines the agony of struggle so keenly that you feel less alone and less crazy while caught in it, and she leads you to small, simple ways to survive until you can be resurrected.

In this most personal of her many books, Joan Chittister uses the story of Jacob wrestling with God as a metaphor for the seemingly insurmountable struggles and disappointments that occur in every lifetime. Writing with passion and compassion, she shows how it is precisely in confronting our personal limitations and the limitations imposed on us, that we strengthen our spiritual muscles and learn to accept help from others. From struggle is born new life and conversion, as we open our hearts and minds to new possibilities. Only the experience of our own vulnerability will prepare us to understand others in their brokenness. Facing despair, we discover the depth of our faith, and dealing with depression, we learn the quality of our hope. Hope need not be heroic: it may be just putting one foot ahead of the other when we find no reason to do so. This is a practical, positive, and challenging book to be read slowly and pondered prayerfully.

Joan Chittister has a wonderful way with words! No wonder when the offer of her getting an advanced degree in creative writing was withdrawn at the last moment, she struggled with deep disappointment, anger and fear. But she remained faithful to the vows of obedience that she had taken as a Benedictine nun and the great transformation of her life began. As she wrestled with her negative feelings, eventually she was able to see how she could use her writing skills in other ways. And the great gift to us all is her ability to help us along our own life's journey with its deep disappointments, losses and turns taken that we hadn't planned on. She illustrates in this wonderful book how all of us get scarred by life's struggles. That is a comfort when you believe you are alone in this. Then she goes on to show how, out of those very struggles, we are able to grow and mature, sometimes even living something undreamed of that goes well beyond what we had originally hoped for. I love this book and have recommended it to friends and family. I read it in two days, not being able to put it down. A friend has told me he has done the same. The book jacket states: "Neither a self-help manual nor a book offering pat answers, but supremely practical and relevant...(it)will richly reward those readers seeking solace in the empathetic, wise, and accessible meditations of a fellow struggler." Amen to that!