"Walking Through Twilight" by Douglas Groothuis. A Review

Walking Through Twilight: A Wife's Illness--A Philosopher's LamentWalking Through Twilight: A Wife's Illness--A Philosopher's Lament by Douglas Groothuis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alzheimer's and dementia show up in our congregations, academic institutions, corporations and families. According to a recent Science Daily report and others (dated 7 December 2017), it is going to increase from 6 million people in 2017 to some 15 million in 2060. This report, coupled with experiences in my church and in my family, causes me to be on the look out for helpful material that can support caregivers. Therefore I was delighted to pick up and read a new work penned by Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary and accomplished author. "Walking Through Twilight: A Wife's Illness--A Philosopher's Lament" is a 176 page paperback written from the personal and reflective perspective of the caregiver.

"Walking Through Twilight" mildly chronicles the eerie, "odd and mystifying unraveling of" (26) the author's wife who has primary progressive aphasia (PPA). In some places it is raw with emotion. In others it is thoughtful and biblically expressive. There autobiographical sections and deliberative installments that run through numerous pages. The frustration, fury, and fatigue come out instructively, giving the reader insights and insider information. Groothuis is handing us clues on how to serve those in this situation because, as he observes, "we are all chaplains in the hospice of life" (60).

When I began to read "Walking Through Twilight" I was certain I'd be brought to tears. Rather I was brought to ponder how I have not always been as helpful as I could have been to those in this situation and their caregivers, and how to do it better. By working through these pages, I have been aided in supporting others "to live well with suffering in light of reality in God's world" and to oppose the twin heresies of optimism and pessimism with hope (53).

Overall, "Walking Through Twilight" is a valuable volume for ministers, elders, Christians, spouses and caregivers. It will enlighten some, encourage others, and challenge most. If Alzheimer's or dementia have shown their unnerving hand in your church or family, this tiny book is a must. And since it's increasing prevalence is forecast, it would be a worthwhile read even is neither have shown up yet. I highly recommend the book.

Thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing, upon my request, the free copy of the book used for this review. The assessments are mine given without restrictions or requirements (as per Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255).

(You can purchase a copy of the book here: "Walking Through Twilight")

View all my reviews

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“The Shift” - 2023 Movie. A Review

Image
  What do you get when you cross a dark dystopian storyline with sci-fi, alternative dimensions, theological and philosophical questions, and the biblical book of Job? You get The Shift , written and directed by Brock Heasley, produced by Ken Carpenter, and distributed by Angel Studios. This roughly one hour and 45 minute tale swirls around Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) as he moves from one realm of life, with it’s happiness and heartbreak, to another dimension that is a dismal existence clearly governed by The Benefactor (masterfully played by Neal McDonough). A viewer will be asking questions all the way through, and picking up clues and answers that pull the story together bit-by-bit. The story bumps up against an infinite set of alternative possibilities, of time, space, and versions of one’s self that will likely stoke a viewer’s imagination. But the heart of the narrative - besides love, grief, loss, trust/distrust - is around the place of evil, specifically, personal or human evil.
Read more

"On Getting Out of Bed" by Alan Noble. A Review

Image
  When it comes to family members or friends going through a significant mental crisis, or suffering, we often can feel like we’re fumbling about to help them. Sometimes, we can become like Job’s friends, whom he had to call “miserable comforters” (Job 16:2). But very recently Alan Noble, assistant professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee Oklahoma, and cofounder and editor-in-chief of “Christ and Pop Culture” penned a deeply beautiful 120-page hardback that addresses mental affliction. “On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living” is written for those who struggle with mental affliction, but also pastors, teachers, parents, and loved ones, to “help them understand their loved one’s suffering. It is for anyone who ever struggles to get out of bed” (3). I finished this book earlier this week, and kept finding myself saying, “Finally! Someone gets it!” Eight chapters fill up this handy manual. They run through several subjects, like not sounding like Job’s f
Read more

Community?

Image
  (This is from my letter to my congregation I sent out today, 30 August 2023) As one of my elders was leading us through Carl Trueman’s Strange New World in our adult class , I appreciated Trueman’s emphasis on community. And our discussions, especially the last two Sundays, were very fruitful as we thought out loud together about this subject. Therefore, I thought I would share something from David Brooks, an Op-ed columnist that leans into this discussion.   Brooks published a book in 2019 titled, “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life”. In that work he was taking a gentle punch at destructive trends he has been seeing, and giving some helpful correctives. And so, he notes that “Individualism, taken too far, leads to tribalism” (34). He then shows how the loneliness and spiritual emptiness of individualism taken too far have become more prevalent in our time and the ways that they lead to very dark social consequences. These darker social consequences foster the need t
Read more