About the Book

Book: Resilient and Redeemed: Lessons about Suicidality and Depression from the Psych Ward

Author: Chris Morris

Genre: Christian Living / Mental Health

Release date: June 11, 2024

God cares deeply about you and your mental health. Author and mental health advocate Chris Morris has battled depression and suicidality his entire adult life. Even coming to Christ didn’t change this, which is something many fellow Christians don’t seem to understand. He still had to face the grief of unrelenting illness, the shame of struggling, and the pain of poor guidance.

In this compassionate and engaging book, Chris shares how he overcame these challenges and invites you to do the same–no matter your diagnosis. Weaving biblical truth and personal stories with thoughtful strategies and hard-earned wisdom, he helps you move past fear and shame to combat the specters of depression and suicidality.

God is still there, even in the darkest of places. May this book be a step in the process of healing and help you find hope in your battle.

Includes reflection questions, Scripture meditations, and a bonus video course.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Chris Morris is a certified mental health coach dedicated to promoting understanding of mental health issues within the church. Because of a lifelong struggle with depression and suicidality, Chris became committed to breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging others to seek after holistic health.

As a writer and speaker, Chris has shared his personal story and insights with audiences across the country, inspiring many individuals to take control of their own health, break free from poor theological teaching placed upon them, and seek the support they need. He has published several books on mental health, the most recent being Resilient and Redeemed. His work has been featured in a number of media outlets, including CrossWalk, The Mighty, and Fathom Magazine.

Chris is deeply committed to creating a more compassionate and supportive world and church for individuals living with mental health issues. Through his writing and speaking, he is a powerful voice for change and a beacon of hope for those in need.

More from Chris

Resilient and Redeemed is a book that the Christian community needs. For too long, those with mental health conditions have been forced to be shamed or to hide their struggles. Especially in a post-COVID world, mental health has to come to the forefront of the conversation. This book details in an unapologetic way my struggles with depression and suicidal ideations. The core message of this book is that God doesn’t write people off because of their struggles with their mental health. No, God is with us and for us no matter what.

Resilient and Redeemed is full of hard-won, battle-tested tools that will help people fight the battle for their mental health. There are no easy answers given, because no two mental illnesses present the same. Ensconced in story, this book gives a full toolbox of practices to support better mental health, ranging from how to find a counselor that will work for you to daily rituals that will ground your days and affirm your agency in your life.

I also put together a video series talking about resilience to accompany this book. As a member of the blog tour, you’ll gain access to over 40 minutes of me talking about resilience. We cover things like where does resilience come from, what does resilience have to do with faith, and so much more. I’m especially proud of the work I did for this video series, and I think you’ll find it incredibly valuable.

Blog Stops

Vicky Sluiter, July 27 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 27

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, July 28 (Author Interview)

Simple Harvest Reads, July 29 (Author Interview)

For the Love of Literature, July 30 (Author Interview)

Texas Book-aholic, July 31

Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 1 (Author Interview)

Through the Fire Blogs, August 2 (Author Interview)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 3

Blossoms and Blessings, August 4 (Author Interview)

Locks, Hooks and Books, August 5

Stories By Gina, August 6 (Author Interview)

Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, August 7 (Author Interview)

A Reader’s Brain, August 8 (Author Interview)

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, August 9 (Author Interview)

Artistic Nobody, August 9

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Chris is giving away the grand prize package of a $75 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book, and an Audible copy of Whispers in the Pews: Voices on Mental Illness in the Church!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2dbd9/resilient-and-redeemed-celebration-tour-giveaway

Interview with Chris

What do you find the hardest part of the writing process?

One of the chapters details my suicide attempt. This was intense and challenging to write on many levels. For starters, my suicide attempt is probably the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life, so revisiting that was humbling and brought a lot of pain to the surface. Beyond that, I had to rely on my wife’s memories of the suicide attempt, so we had to walk back through the most painful thing we’ve experienced together in our marriage. There were lots of tears shed, and we had to decide together whether it was appropriate to even share pieces of this moment with the whole world.

On a related note, every part of this book was hard to write because I am exposing myself and my struggles to every reader of the book. I worried, and still do worry, about people thinking less of me or dismissing me because of the stories contained in Resilient and Redeemed.

Tell us about your writing process.

I have a combination of spontaneous and organized portions of my writing process. I do start with an outline, so I’m not fully a “pantser” by any means. Especially with a book like this, it’s too important to make sure that I’m covering all the important parts of my life and detailing all the ways God proved himself faithful in the midst of my life. However, my outline consists of about a paragraph for each chapter that I plan to write. Crafting that outline is a very intentional and slow process, that takes a lot of time, planning, and thought.

But, once I have that outline, I just roll with it and see what flows out of my brain. I free-write based on the paragraph summaries. Surprisingly, most of the first drafts that I write end up being part of the final project. I think that the outlining and the thought that goes into the outlining frees my brain to focus in the background on the full chapters, so that it’s almost like I’m just capturing the ideas that are already fully formed in my head on paper. I once wrote a book on an eight-day writing retreat in Portland, and I also wrote another book over a four-day weekend in Baltimore. The outline is really the key to unlocking my writing speed.

Do your books revolve around certain themes?

Everything I write has a mental illness bent to it. This is the difficult road that I have walked, as someone who has struggled with suicidality and depression for the last thirty-plus years. I have often wondered where God was, why he seemed so absent, and why he didn’t just heal me of this horrible struggle. Most of my writing comes out of this place of trying to stay faithful to God while simultaneously lamenting the things he hasn’t done in my life.

I write on these topics for the simple reason that not enough Christians are writing about mental health and faith. Unfortunately, many churches have fallen prey to a variety of myths that harm those with mental health conditions, like “Only immature people struggle with their mental health” or “Taking psychiatric medications prove you don’t have faith in God to heal you.” I write and speak to tear down these harmful false beliefs and to give people hope. I am convinced that God does not disqualify anyone from his love or from extending his kingdom, but I know that a lot of people with mental illnesses struggle to agree with me because of their experiences. I hope my books break down barriers in this way.

 What are you currently working on?

I have another book related to mental health communities that I hope we will be able to start pitching in the next year. The tentative title is Help Me Feel Safe: How to Practically Welcome the Struggling into Your Circle. Those with mental illnesses feel very disconnected from support and encouragement. More often than not, they are afraid to share their struggles with anyone for fear of judgment. Sadly, this is largely true whether they are Christians or not. Historically, churches and Christians have not held safe spaces to talk about mental health concerns. While that is slowly changing, Christian places and people often are still not the sanctuaries that God calls them to be.

Thankfully, we are not left without a clear path to follow. Romans chapter 12 outlines in great detail what it means to be a safe believer. It covers everything from how to allow everyone to be a part of the work of the church to how we can support one another.

Help Me Feel Safe contrasts the reality of isolation in the mental health arena with the call to radical commitment to community in the church. It blazes a path for individual Christians to follow that will allow them to become sanctuaries of safety for those struggling with mental health challenges. This book will be full of practical steps we can take in our own lives to become welcoming to those with mental illnesses. It will outline ways to communicate love and belonging to those suffering, so they can feel safe.

Tell us something unique about yourself.

This isn’t about writing in any way, but I’m guessing it’s fairly unique. I am a 6’7” man who is afraid of heights. Actually, to be more specific, I am afraid of falling. So being in a skyscraper or an airplane doesn’t scare me, because the odds of my falling are very slim. But standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon (true story) does make me queasy.