A Relentless Hope: Surviving the Storm of Teen Depression

A Relentless Hope: Surviving the Storm of Teen Depression. By Gary E. Nelson. Cascade, 154 pp., $18.00 paperback.

Teenagers are often a mysterious mix of impulsiveness and inertia, which makes it difficult to recognize in them the signs of depression. Many people find it hard to believe that adolescents can be clinically depressed. Even Nelson, a United Methodist minister who had been trained in psychological counseling, had trouble recognizing the symptoms in his son, Tom. With a deep respect for the courage of those who battle this disease, Nelson provides down-to-earth insights into depression and treatment. Just as important, he gives an honest account of his struggle to understand the illness that gutted Tom's high school years, turning a baseball star and honor student into someone who could not get out of bed. He conveys a parent's terrors and self-doubt, and the flood of questions that arise as one tries to figure out how to help. (Should we--can we--force Tom to get out of bed? What do we tell the school? What do we tell his sister?) Theologically, Nelson returns repeatedly to Psalm 22 and faith in the God who walks with those who walk in darkness.

COPYRIGHT 2008 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning