This was an excellent guide to coping with suffering, which was simply written and easy to follow. It is mostly for Catholics, but probably helpful to other Christians as well. The advice that I liked best was about trying to let go of all of the petty faults, such as small annoyances, envy and jealousy, so that you can deal with your bigger issues. She provides examples of how saints have dealt with pain, especially St Therese of Lisieux, as well as Jesus himself. Since I thankfully don't suffer from chronic pain, I found the part about dealing with mental troubles, such as feelings of malaise or even severe depression, more helpful to me, and perhaps most people

. As well as helping the reader to think about their problems in a more Christian way, and suggesting other authors to read, Elizabeth Stewart also tells how prayer and Bible-reading has helped her. I think that this section was very useful for readers, especially Catholic ones. I would be happy to read more of her books.

I received this free ebook by winning a copy at LibraryThing in return for an honest review. ( )

I want to be mindful as I write this review, as this book is primarily written as a personal wrestling with pain and, ultimately, mortality. You can hear the author's personal journey in the subtext, and it sounds very much like she is talking to herself.

That said, and with full appreciation of that fact, I didn't love this book. It was...messy?

In the introduction, the author asserts herself as an expert on pain, automatically creating a distance between herself and the reader. It feels dismissive of all other pain to start out by declaring that if ANYONE knows pain, it's obviously the author (and thus, not the reader). Then, it kind of devolves into a jumbled mess of pop psychology, bad theology, and the story of a saint from a time long passed, with a smattering of personal interjections.

I recognize that, not being Catholic (I am a protestant Christian), some of the theology is going to be difficult for me. It's not that I don't understand it or how it arises; it's that I can't agree with it. The notion, for example, that God would use our faithfulness in suffering as a blessing to someone halfway around the world that we've never met seems like something we tell ourselves to make us feel better; it's not really the God of the Bible, who always works in relationship.

This proposes to be a book about letting Christ transform your pain, but the real emphasis is on engaging in enough self-reflection, self-discipline, and psychology to rid yourself of most of your suffering so that you only have a very small bit of "pure" suffering left to offer to Christ, who then, I guess, puts it in His bank to use however He sees fit? It also asserts in many places that our response to pain and suffering is best when it is stoic - when we are gracefully accepting of it, putting on a brave face, and pushing through it. This is the 21st Century - we are well past this approach to pain and suffering, or so I thought. You don't get heaven points for making yourself a martyr.

These are lessons I have had to learn the hard way through my own life experiences, and the more I reach out and talk to others, the more the overwhelming majority of them have come to the same conclusions that I have. The author here just seems stuck in an archaic understanding of pain, and, honestly, it makes me sad for her. It makes me want to pray for her (and so, I will).

I think there is much to learn from the life and faithfulness of Therese (the saint whose story is woven through these pages), but I think the author missed the point and twisted it into something it was never meant to be.

Like I said in the beginning, I understand why the author needs the story as she told it. For me, though, it just added confusion to the whole thing. ( )

3.5 Stars
A well-organized Christian (especially and sometimes specifically Catholic) guide on how to turn physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual pain into something bigger than the individual. There are some sentences that may unintentionally alienate some readers, but overall, the book has an excellent layout, good material and suggestions, and positive examples. It may be best for readers who practice Catholicism, but there's plenty to benefit most readers with an open mind included in this work.

LibraryThing Early Reviewer ( )

I read, Let Christ Transform Your Pain, not as a catholic but rather as a Lutheran who has taught Sunday School and Confirmation and find great peace comes through my relationship with God both in and outside of worship.

While as a practicing Lutheran there are some differences in the day to day practices of my faith, we as Lutherans come from the same spiritual background as Catholics.

I find that as amply demonstrated in Elizabeth Stewart’s book that by coming to terms with our pain and understanding Gods endless grace, love, and forgiveness.

Elizabeth Stewart's book writes about how to use our physical, emotional and spiritual pain to help draw us into a closer relationship with god

By accepting our physical, emotional and spiritual pain as she asserts St. Therese did and admitting to its impact on us we are able to find our spiritual center.

A book that offers a interesting view how to strengthen one's faith. ( )