Table of Contents

Preface: Struggle, the Seedbed of Hope Acknowledgments A Paradigm of Struggle The Loss of Certainty: A Suffering of the Soul Struggle: The Process and the Challenge The Struggle of Change The Gift of Conversion The Struggle of Isolation The Gift of Independence The Struggle of Darkness The Gift of Faith The Struggle with Fear The Gift of Courage The Struggle with Powerlessness The Gift of Surrender The Struggle of Vulnerability The Gift of Limitations The Struggle of Exhaustion The Gift of Endurance The Struggle of Scarring The Gift of Transformation Wrestling with God The Process of Struggle The Process of Hope The Gift of Hope Hope: The Resurrection of the Spirit

About the Author

Joan D Chittister is a best-selling author, an internationally known lecturer, and the executive director of Benetvision: A Resource and Research Centre for Contemporary Spirituality, Erie, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

"As ever, Joan Chittister's voice rises up from the struggle to offer a powerful and transforming source of hope!" Martin Sheen "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." Thomas Moore "I was deeply moved by Joan Chittister's courage and insight and by her insistence that we are all capable of them as well." Rabbi Harold Kushner "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."Anne M. Luther "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." Miriam Therese Winter

"As ever, Joan Chittister's voice rises up from the struggle to offer a powerful and transforming source of hope!" Martin Sheen "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." Thomas Moore "I was deeply moved by Joan Chittister's courage and insight and by her insistence that we are all capable of them as well." Rabbi Harold Kushner "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."Anne M. Luther "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." Miriam Therese Winter