Description: Building on the biblical story of Jacob wrestling with God and on the story of her own battle with life-changing disappointment, Sister Joan Chittister deftly explores the landscape of suffering and hope. (Practical Life)
Brief description: Joan Chittister is executive director of Benetvision: A Resource and Research Center for Contemporary Spirituality, Erie, Pennsylvania. She is also a contributor to The Huffington Post blog. Her many books include God's Tender Mercy, The Story of Ruth (with John August Swanson), and Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope. For more information, visit her website at www.joanchittister.org.
Review Quotes: Association of Theological Booksellers, Theologos Award for Book of the Year (2003)
Catholic Press Association, Third Place, Spirituality (2004)
"As ever, Joan Chittister's voice rises up from the struggle to offer a powerful and transforming source of hope!" Thomas Moore
"Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope is not really about hope. It is about the conditions that give rise to hope ? the honest emotions, the trusting vision, the steadfast struggle. I appreciate the way this powerful book offers a way toward hope without any cheating. No sentimentality. No false assurances. No spiritual illusions. It has the strong voice of personal experience plus a rare religious intelligence. Like the human character in its central story of Jacob and the angel, this book clings to life's complexity until it finds a blessing. It will help you get through, not around, the challenges that define you." Rabbi Harold Kushner
"I was deeply moved by Joan Chittister's courage and insight and by her insistence that we are all capable of them as well." Anne M. Luther
"Using the story of Jacob wrestling with God as backdrop, Joan Chittister reflects on her experience of disappointment and loss as the birthplace of hope. Touching on issues familiar to most of us, she explores the many dimensions of suffering in a movement toward transformation. This is a book you will revisit many times for the encouragement, challenge, and inspiration it provides." Miriam Therese Winter
"At a time when the vision and values that define us as a nation seem under siege from all directions, Joan Chittister ? mystic and prophet ? has given us yet another perspective on holding fast to hope. Hope is rooted in the past, she says, but it believes in the future, for God's world is in God's hands. Hope is in the struggle. What a comfort it is to hear these words as we struggle to make our way in a world that keeps moving away from us."