When God Walks Away

How do we survive when, although our souls ache for God, it seems our Beloved has walked out on us? When God Walks Away: A Dark Night Companion explores and celebrates one of faith’s great mysteries: the dark night of the soul. Christ’s passion serves as a model for the journey as we accompany Him through surrender, into agonized suffering, to death and into the wonder of new life. Each section introduces a metaphor for the night, and then plumbs the metaphor with examples from personal experience; literature (readers will struggle with Parzival through a hopeless winter, accompany Polly and Digory on a great quest, and climb Mount Doom with Frodo); and faith history (readers will walk with C. S. Lewis, Mother Teresa, and John of the Cross through their seasons of darkness). Each chapter closes with a “Lifeline” section that suggests books, music, visual artworks, and films to help the reader endure. When God Walks Away also differentiates the Dark Night from depression: a vital distinction, because, whereas the Dark Night is holy and, in the end, beneficial, depression can be destructive. In addition, the book’s appendices provide the reader a wealth of information, such as guidance on finding a therapist or spiritual director, biblical references to the Dark Night, and a discernment practice based on the works of St. Ignatius. Appropriate for individual reading or for group study, When God Walks Away assures the reader that she is not alone on what seems to be the loneliest of journeys.