Dark Nights of the Soul

<p>2019 WINNER: WRITER'S DIGEST SELF-PUBLISHED EBOOK AWARDS CATEGORY NONFICTION</p><p>The first edition ebook won first place in a Writer's Digest contest. This new edition whether in ebook or paperback contains the material of the award-winning book plus additional material: a dedication foreword acknowledgements and a bonus essay I'm calling The One Thing: The 5000 Most Important Words I Have Ever Written (So Far). </p><p>Dark nights of the soul happen at the intersection of faith and depression. In 2000 I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I had been living with a depressed brain my whole life and didn't know it. How many more people are walking around sad irritable and cynical and don't even know why? Or maybe they have a reason but it hits them harder than most people.</p><p>How many more feel this underlying sorrow and think it's normal? </p><p>How many more think they can't be (or shouldn't be) depressed because a personal relationship with Jesus is supposed to make you immune to it? </p><p>I started a blog in 2015. In this book I've collected the posts that speak to recovery from depression. The book includes: </p><p>- A look inside the mind of someone with clinical depression</p><p>- 4 Principles for Recovery (that came from hard experience)</p><p>- Understanding the voice of the depressed brain (and how to fight back)</p><p>- 22 scientifically proven ways to help cope with and alleviate depression</p><p>- How faith and religion can either help or hurt your recovery</p><p>- Resources for finding professional help.</p><p>Recovery is one day at a time. After twenty years of one day at a time I can say a happy and fulfilling life is possible even if your depressed brain colors everything in gray. </p>