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Postpartum Depression: Hope for A Hard Season is the latest counseling booklet by author, podcaster, and biblical counselor Christine M. Chappell. This brief booklet consists of 24 pages rich in wise counsel on a topic that is often taboo, even in the church.
In the book, Christine shares about her experience with postpartum depression (PPD) and frequently reminds readers of who Jesus is. Her tone is one of gentleness that leaves readers filled with the hope of eternity. One aspect of the booklet that I deeply appreciate is her acknowledgment of the realities that make postpartum a very difficult season whether or not one is depressed.
I experienced postpartum depression after the birth of my first child and felt afraid to open up about it because I had heard many well meaning Christians say that depression is sin. Christine’s booklet graciously acknowledges that in postpartum depression many factors are at play and avoids any language that refers to PPD as a sin. It also refrains from creating burdens or increasing burdens that mothers with PPD already carry.
On page 6 she wisely warns against treating PPD as solely a spiritual issue or solely a physical one. She wrote, “Perhaps you view yourself as only a big, bundled mess of unruly emotions or only a body and brain that’s gone haywire. Or perhaps the only lens you see yourself through today magnifies your sin struggles and spiritual doubts. The problem with these overly narrow views is that they don’t reflect the complexity of your whole personhood, let alone your surrounding environment.
God created you as a moral being with dual natures: body (material) and spirit (immaterial). This means that postpartum depression always involves both your physical and spiritual being. A narrow focus on only one portion of your personhood is detrimental.”
Postpartum Depression: Hope for A Hard Season is filled with Scripture and reminds readers of God’s heart for them in Christ. This is the book I wish existed when I experienced PPD. I’m so comforted that it exists and for how it points mothers to the hope of Christ amid a dark and lonely season.
