Father Ron Rolheiser is a prolific writer and speaker. Many of his works look at complex theological issues, such as the human heart’s search for God (“Holy Longing”) and they are written in a style that is inviting and informative. Here he takes on the difficult issue of suicide in his usual style, writing with both compassion and empathy.
Father Rolheiser has experienced the loss of friends in this manner, and he has comforted others at the time of suicide in their families. In his words one feels comforted.
Throughout this little book Father Rolheiser confronts the stigma that suicide leaves, both for the individual who takes the life and for those left behind. He notes that “if someone dies in a morally compromised situation … the goodness of that life and heart should not be judged by the circumstances of that death. Death caught that person on a down bounce” which does not offer “a true judgment as to the goodness of his or her heart.”
He writes that suicide is a disease, like cancer, and that those who commit suicide are usually sensitive. He notes that those who die at their own hands can be trusted to the “infinite understanding and compassion” of God.
This book offers hope and healing to those who have experienced the loss of a loved one or anyone trying to understand the topic. —Daniel S. Mulhall • Catholic News Service
A Catholic priest with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the author of The Holy Longing and the award-winning weekly column “In Exile” that appears in more than 70 newspapers, Ronald Rolheiser is also the author of Bruised and Wounded: Struggling to Understand Suicide which comes out in December from Paraclete. Rolheiser seeks to erase the stigma surrounding suicide for those left grieving. Specific chapters include: Removing the Taboo, Despair as Weakness Rather than Sin, Reclaiming the Memory of Our Loved One, and The Pains of Ones Left Behind. —Publishers Weekly
