Eye-Opening! 'Becoming Resilient: How to Move Through Suffering and Come Back Stronger' - by Donna Gibbs

About the book:

At some point, we all suffer disappointment, rejection, injustice, and loss. Such suffering can paralyze us, leaving us broken inside and merely going through the motions outside. Whether we remain stuck in these negative patterns or move forward is determined in large part by our resilience.

A professional counselor for twenty years, Donna Gibbs shares the secrets of building resilience that will change your experience of suffering. She offers practical tools and effective coping strategies to deal with whatever life throws your way so you can move through suffering--and come out stronger on the other side.

My review:

This book is amazing and contains such great wisdom for dealing with all kinds of suffering, from trauma to broken relationships to physical issues.  It has enlightening real-life examples of people she's counseled and other people she knows who were either stuck in their suffering or were resilient and moved through it well.  She also uses Scripture to explain and comfort.  The author first has a section explaining that suffering is normal in that everyone is going to suffer at one time or another and the Bible says we can expect to suffer.  She looks at reasons people get stuck when suffering, such as believing destructive theology, practicing destructive thinking or having poor coping skills. 

The next section talks about getting unstuck and building resilience by acknowledging the suffering, telling the whole story and balancing emotional boundaries, to name a few ways.  Some people live in denial and don't want to even acknowledge their pain while others focus on parts of the story or situation instead of looking at the whole picture.  It's very important to focus on who God says you are, not on what the suffering says.  Her last section looks at learning to thrive once you're unstuck and looks at the big picture and finding purpose.  The end of each chapter has a victory verse and application questions.  This is such an important book for everyone to read who feels they could use a little, or a lot, more resilience, because if you haven't gone through suffering yet, you will.  It's best to be prepared so you don't get stuck in the first place, but there's always hope for getting unstuck!  I highly recommend this book!

I received this book free from Revell in exchange for an honest review.

 The Author

1. 

   Donna Gibbs

   Donna Gibbs is a licensed counselor supervisor, a national certified counselor, and a board certified Christian counselor. A member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, she is on the referral network for Focus on the Family, Christian Care...
   

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