Books

Parenting from childhood through adolescence and into early adulthood is a daunting task, made more so by the unpredictable turns and challenges every family faces.

Being able to be honest and real about these challenges can help you provide stability to children facing mental health related issues, allowing them to flourish.

Through vivid and powerful storytelling, Blessed Youth: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness with Children and Teens will remove the barriers of stigma and shame associated with mental illness in children and teens (Click here for the free study guide).

Readers will know they are not alone and be reminded of God’s grace and loving presence in the midst of the heartache and struggle of mental illness. In addition to stories of children and youth experiencing mental health challenges, Blessed Youth includes practical resources such as prayers and a guide for having age-appropriate talks with children about warning signs and how to get help for themselves and friends. Ultimately, this important resource offers hope and help for everyone who loves a child or youth with mental health challenges.

Today’s youth need to hear the message “It’s okay to not be okay.” They need to know hope and help are always available. Blessed Youth Survival Guide offers the tools youth need to survive when they are feeling disconnected, confused, and alone. This survival guide is specifically for youth and covers topics that today’s youth will undoubtedly face such as anxiety, sadness, depression, phobias, OCD, panic attacks, PTSD, trauma, and therapy. Blessed Youth Survival Guide helps youth recognize when they are experiencing an issue and encourages them to tell a parent, doctor, or another adult who can help them receive the appropriate care. Youth are encouraged to be proactive with their mental health by developing good overall health practices and taking a Safety Pledge — a pledge to promise to identify three people who they can contact if they begin having thoughts of self-harm and/or suicide.

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About Blessed Union: Mental illness impacts at least a quarter of all blessed unions. In this new book by the author of Blessed are the Crazy, Sarah Griffith Lund opens up about depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in her own marriage and shares stories of other couples who have been impacted by mental illnesses such as addiction, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, postpartum depression, schizophrenia, suicidality, and more.

Using traditional marriage vows as a framework for the book, Blessed Union explores the challenges of loving in the midst of mental health challenges, why it happens, what we can do about it, and how our faith is connected to mental illness. This book reminds us that we are not alone and invites us to break the silence around marriage and mental illness.

Book includes a guided journal section, with a dozen blank pages and prompts for deeper reflection. Order here

About Blessed Are the Crazy: When do you learn that “normal” doesn’t include lots of yelling, lots of sleeping, lots of beating? In Blessed Are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness, Family and Church, Sarah Griffith Lund looks back at her father’s battle with bipolar disorder, and the helpless sense of déjà vu as her brother and cousin endure mental illness, as well. With a small group study guide and “Ten Steps for Developing a Mental Health Ministry in Your Congregation,” Blessed Are the Crazy is more than memoir—it’s a resource for churches and other faith-based groups to provide healing and comfort. Part of The Young Clergy Women Project. Order here.