Proclaimer Blog
Down not Out – [Chris Cipollone]
Here is a book written not by a Psychologist but by a sufferer – a Christian sufferer. Cipollone is a Christian Minister who has experienced and continues to live with anxiety and depression. Chris uses his personal story to walk the reader through the process of understanding and addressing the multi-faceted nature of mental illness. He asks the hard questions that every sufferer and their carers ask. He tackles openly and honestly the issues that are sometimes taboo: Brokenness; feelings; attack; idols; suicide; healing and more.
Whilst Cipollone shamelessly shares his own story, at each point he also speaks God’s Word of truth into each situation. This is not a book that revolves around the author, it is a book that points to Jesus and reminds the reader of their Identity in Him. This is not done in a heavy, preachy way, but with accessible sensitivity and compassion. Cipollone carefully draws on passages from a variety of biblical genres to provide teaching, correction, empathy, encouragement and hope. By dividing this short book into small bitesize chunks with one word titles, the author has made this book an easy read for the person already feeling “down”. He clearly understands the limited capacity of the sufferer and the need to speak eternal bitesize truths into a particular moment in time.
As someone prone to having “downs”, I found this book extremely helpful. It is honest and real about how bad it feels and yet uncompromising in speaking the truth of the gospel of Jesus. This is what we all need and Cipollone does this with empathy and grace.
The brevity of the book does mean that there is a danger of a lack of depth. This can be read all too speedily and then quickly forgotten. However, each chapter ends with “Reflection” which no doubt aims to slow the reader down and digest each bite.
If you are looking for a more clinical book with definitions, causes, symptoms and treatments – look elsewhere. This is a book for a Christian sufferer and those who love them and who want to better understand how the great gospel of Jesus speaks mightily but gently into the hearts of those with a broken mind.
by Rebekah Brown
Reading level: Very accessible and easy to read.
Price: RRP £7.99
ISBN: 9781784981419
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Rating: *****