Where is God when faithful people suffer unbearable loss?
As a Christian minister, I counsel grieving congregants on this point, not with pastoral platitudes but the authority of a mother whose eight-year-old son, Nathanael, was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor, and who, after many years of struggle, succumbed to the illness.
Why would a loving God allow such a thing? As this narrative shows, I discovered that just about everything I thought I knew about God had to be discarded. My investigation went far beyond classic Christian teaching to the Buddha, Jewish thought, new-age gurus, and mindfulness.
I learned that God requires something from us when tragedy upends our lives—a willingness to enter into the pain and walk through to healing. This truth emanates from uncensored reflection, the treacherous road to self-acceptance, discoveries of everyday miracles, and deep love.
Praise
“Clare Robert has written the honest truth about ‘people just like you who one day found our world suddenly destroyed.’ She writes, ‘Our meetings are held every day for the rest of your life. Come, join us. You have no choice.’ And because she tells you this, you know that her title is the truth as well. You will be happy, again.”
—Nora Gallagher, author of Moonlight Sonata at Mayo Clinic
“This book will be of great comfort to parents going through their own nightmare. ”
—Maya Manley, co-founder, Making Headway Foundation, Chappaqua, New York
“This book does not hide the pain of loss or wrap them in false uplift. On every page, Clare examines what she thought she knew about God and what life is teaching her. Each chiseled sentence renews that commitment to an honest rendering of heart and soul.”
—Ray Waddle, Editor of Reflections, Yale Divinity School
Get the Book
You Will Be Happy Again is available in print from Off The Commons books in Amherst, Massachusetts.
About the Author
Rev. Clare Robert is an authorized minister in the United Church of Christ. She holds a Master of Sacred Theology from Yale Divinity School.
In 1973, as a young Roman Catholic woman, Clare felt called to ordained ministry and began her theological studies with the Jesuits in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She completed a Master of Divinity degree at Interfaith Metropolitan Theological Education in Washington, D.C. and did further graduate work in Geneva, Switzerland and Lyon, France.
Clare has served three churches in Connecticut as associate pastor and is currently Chaplain at The Spring Glen Church in Hamden.
