Have you ever faced a situation that made you feel alone, discouraged, or overwhelmed? In the new book Your Word for Mine: Real Crises—Real Rescue, author and editor Jane Schlenvogt-Dew has gathered 12 hard-hitting, first-person accounts by people who have faced such circumstances and who share with readers their struggles and triumphs.

Each writer reflects on one word: Guilty, Empty, Discouraged, Abandoned. These writers have experienced life-threatening illness, sudden death, family-shattering divorce, and other crushing events that threatened to rob them of peace, joy, and life itself. But at the end of each story is victory through Christ and a stronger faith in God’s healing power and endless love.

Schlenvogt-Dew relates her own story of finding love and marriage after almost 30 years as a single teacher and the brief two years she and her husband had together before he died of cancer. Other writers share the pain of infertility or a stillborn child.

For some, this may not be an easy book to read. The editor herself calls it “some heavy stuff,” and warns that “you may want to consider this before . . . you hand it off to a friend.” However, this slim volume should be part of the library of every pastor, teacher, or counselor who deals with Christian suffering, or anyone who has struggled with the question of why bad things happen to good people.

The courage and honesty of these stories allow the reader to walk beside the writers in their darkest hours and to listen to the words that God spoke to them, words that upheld, uplifted, and changed everything.

A look at books published by Northwestern Publishing House. For more information, visit nph.net or call 800-662-6022.

Author: Becca Backhaus
Volume 112, Number 12
Issue: December 2025