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.

Author Interview

What does success as an author look like to you?

I have spent a lot of time thinking about what success means for this book specifically, for a lot of reasons. This is the most important book that I have ever published. It’s also the most personal book that I have published. So much of my story is contained in the pages of Resilient and Redeemed, there is a sense in which any negative reactions or rejections of this book might be received by me as a rejection of me.

Because of how closely these things are aligned, I have asked the Lord to help me gauge what success looks like for this book. I felt a strong sense that, for Resilient and Redeemed specifically, success will not be measured necessarily by reaching a certain number of books sold or awards received. Instead, this book will be measured by the lives changed.

I have already heard numerous reports from people, some who I know and others I don’t know, who have been encouraged, challenged, and freed from shame due to this book. So from where I sit, I am already successful with this book. It has accomplished its goal completely, and anything else is just gravy.

Which chapter was the most difficult to write?

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.

What inspired this book?

Resilient and Redeemed is sourced in my own life. I have struggled with depression and suicidality my entire adult life, even though I’ve been a Christian this entire time. My journey has had its ups and downs, and frankly, a lot of the downs were based on bad information or coaching that I came across in the church. I heard things like this: “Only immature people struggle with their mental health” and “If you need to take psychotherapeutic medications, it’s because you lack faith.” These mistaken beliefs held me back for years because I wanted to honor the leaders God placed in my life.

I don’t want anyone else to be burdened with the shame and guilt that I carried for literally over a decade because of this poor teaching. I wanted to center this book both in my story and in the truths we find in the Bible as a way to show people that both my story and God support the ideas we’re talking about here.

What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?

My favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:31 – “If God is for us, who can be against us?” This is the most powerful rhetorical question in the history of the world. It declares the awesome truth that the Creator of the universe, the most powerful being there ever was, looks upon us and chooses us. He chooses not only to pay attention to us (which is amazing in its own right), but even more than that, he chooses to be for us.

Nothing ought to shake us as we gather into our spirit and allow it to settle there. Even when darkness and challenges comes, which Jesus promises they will, we can rest assured that God is for and us with us. When the tears fall down our face because it’s just that hard, God is right by our side, perhaps even crying with us.

What is your most well-loved and well-used house appliance?

All the individual pieces related to my pour-over coffee. I have a nice cup of coffee to start every morning, and usually another one in the early afternoon to get me through the day. I am a bit of a coffee snob though, so I can’t just have a cup of joe from the Keurig. I need to make sure the coffee is ground at the right fineness, and then the water needs to be at the perfect temperature. Once that happens, I need to coffee grounds to bloom for just the right amount of time before I complete the pour. Like I said, I’m a bit of a snob. We all have our vices right? If coffee is my worst, that’s not so bad.

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