A Quiet Mind to Suffer With

Mental Illness, Trauma, and the Death of Christ

by John Andrew Bryant

This is the story of Christ’s nearness to my own suffering—my mental breakdown, my journey to the psych ward, my long, slow, painful recovery—and how Christ will use even our agony and despair to turn us into servants and guests of the mercy offered in his gospel.

We cannot answer suffering. And yet suffering demands an answer. If Jesus is the answer to suffering, what kind of answer is Jesus?

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“Because John Bryant points us to Christ crucified, we have more than a story, we have hope.”

Kelly M. Kapic

author of You’re Only Human and Embodied Hope

“This is a stunning book, so rare and so beautiful. The book is honest, vulnerable, gripping, and hopeful at the same time. Read this book.”

Matthew A. LaPine

director of Christian education at Citylight Church in Omaha, NE; author of The Logic of the Body

“This book will make you weep, enlarge your empathy, and instill a compassion in you for the mentally ill. An invitation into the wounds of Christ that gives meaning to all suffering.”

Greg Peters

Biola University and Nashotah House Theological Seminary; author of Monkhood of All Believers

“Christians struggling to reconcile their faith and mental health will feel seen and heard.”

Publishers Weekly starred review

“John’s ability to share his own pain and trauma in a way that reveals the Savior who bears our trauma is a much-needed witness for Christians who suffer in silence.”

Caleb Musselman

pastor of Soma Church, Beaver Falls, PA