Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff, Wolterstorff Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lament for a Son
Book Review: Only book that helped me in coping with the loss of my son
Summary: 5 Stars
I lost my 26 year old son in April of 1999. I have read many grief books, but this one struck home in the author's poignantly honest expression of his grief and confusion. He holds out hope but gives full recognition to the pain, the regret, the deep agony that shakes our very souls when we experience this most terrible of losses. I keep my copy on my bedside table and return to it over and over, especially certain pages which I have marked as particularly meaningful to me.Book Review: Painfully honest...
Summary: 4 Stars
I have not lost a child. In fact, I'm not a parent. So, admittedly, much of the power of this book, as expressed by other reviewers, is simply lost on me. I cannot empathize with the author's experience in any way.
However, I am still glad to have read this compact book. Though one reviewer suggests that it is too academic, it is no such thing. Intelligently written? Yes. Academic? No. Instead, it is a strikingly authentic expression of the pain and suffering that the author experienced immediately after and further past the event of losing his 25-year-old son to a mountain climbing accident.
The greatest asset of this book is the author's brutal honesty. All Christians would do well to follow his example of opening our emotional landscape for God and others to see, rather than somehow trying to stuff our most "unChristian" feelings behind some facade of strength. When things hurt, I am confident that God allows His people to hurt. In fact, Wolterstorff suggests that God hurts with us.
This book is not filled with Christians platitudes, so spiritual sounding but ultimately so silly, that we often offer to each other to try to help with despair. Instead, it sits in that grief, analyzes that grief, admits the brokenness, and still reaches for the comforting hand of a loving God. Especially for those who have lost a child but even for any Christian who wants to learn how to honestly grieve, I recommend this book as worthwhile.
Book Review: Peerless
Summary: 5 Stars
This little book is the one I reached for when a friend lost a son at age 21. It's only one of over a dozen that I read following the loss of my wife at age 40. I can't add too much to the glowing comments of other reviewers, but please note the one thing that is most important about "Lament for a Son" - it speaks to the heart. If you are experiencing loss, it speaks most of what your own heart will speak, either now or down the road. And if you know someone who has been blindsided by sudden loss, and you want to understand something of what that friend is experiencing, read this book. The first time through won't take that long - it's the repeated re-reads that takes so much time! But with each re-read, you'll connect better with that aching in your soul. Note, I'm not saying you'll feel less pain - that's not the object of grieving. You will hate death more, grieve more honestly, and feel more properly alien to this world of disappointment and separation. Only One can rescue us, and thank God He is both willing and able!Book Review: Right up there with A Grief Observed
Summary: 5 Stars
I actually have a small library of grief books compiled since my 24 year old son died in January 2006. In the early days, I sensed that much of what I was reading would need to be re-read at various points in my journey and it has proven to be true. I could not take in or make sense of my feelings in relation to what I was reading until some time had passed. Prof. Wolterstorff's book has been a mainstay, and I find new thoughts upon a third or fourth reading. Describing the loss of passion and joy for life, he says, "Instead of rowing, I float. The joy that comes my way I savor. But the seeking, the clutching, the aiming, is gone.....What the world gives, I still accept. But what it promises, I no longer reach for. I've become an alien in the world, shyly touching it as if it's not mine. I don't belong anymore." Exactly.Book Review: So Helpful
Summary: 5 Stars
A very close friend lost her son in a tragic accident in Feb of 09. Her pain was so deep and so terrible and I was trying for a way to be of more comfort. I was in the library and I found this book by accident. I wasnt looking for this kind of book but the title grabbed me and as I started to read I started to cry. It is so well written, she found it instantly helpful and comforting. This man shares his own pain and grief, and his own journey of trying to make sense of the loss of his son. This book was a true comfort to someone who knows the pain of that loss.