A Grace Disguised : How the Soul Grows Through Suffering

Loss. It's a word that many of us fear and few of us can evade. It stalked Gerald Sittser one night and struck with full fury on a lonely road in Idaho. In an instant, a tragic accident claimed three generations of his family: his mother, his wife, and his young daughter.
But this is not a book about one man's sorrow. Rather, it is a moving meditation on the losses we all suffer and the grace that can transform us.
A Grace Disguised plumbs the depth of our sorrows, whether due to illness, divorce, or the loss of someone we love. The circumstances are not important; what we do with those circumstances is. In coming to the end of ourselves, we can come to the beginning of a new life - one marked by spiritual depth, joy, compassion, and a deeper appreciation of simple blessings.
If your soul aches, you may be on a journey that will stretch your faith, your understanding of the meaning of life, and your knowledge of God. If you let it, your sorrow will increase your capacity to live well, to love life, and to experience joy, not after the darkness but even in the midst of it.

Gerald L. Sittser is associate professor of religion at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington.