Not Alone: Reflections on Faith and Depression---A 40-Day Devotional

by Monica A. Coleman

The author speaks from the heart as minister, woman, friend, professional, and person who lives with depression. This 40-day devotional offers a tool that guides the reader back to faith through personal exploration and experiences of strength, hope, love and spirit.

Genres: Religion, Psychology, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Christianity

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 21, 2012

About the author

Dr. Monica A. Coleman is Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware. She spent over ten years in graduate theological education at Claremont School of Theology, the Center for Process Studies and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Coleman has earned degrees from Harvard University, Vanderbilt University and Claremont Graduate University. She has received funding from leading foundations in the United States, including the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Institute for Citizens and Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation), among others.

Answering her call to ministry at 19 years of age, Coleman is an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and an initiate in traditional Yoruba religion.

Dr. Coleman brings her experiences in evangelical Christianity, black church traditions, global ecumenical work, and indigenous spirituality to her discussions of theology and religion.

Dr. Coleman is the author or editor of six books, and several articles and book chapters that focus on the role of faith in addressing critical social and philosophical issues. Her memoir "Bipolar Faith" shares her life-long dance with trauma and depression, and how she discovers a new and liberating vision of God.

Her book "Making a Way Out of No Way" is required reading at leading theological schools around the country, and listed on the popular #BlackWomenSyllabus and #LemonadeSyllabus recommended reading projects.

Dr. Coleman is the co-host (along with writer Tananarive Due) of the popular webinar series "Octavia Tried to Tell Us: Parable for Today’s Pandemic," addressing today’s most pressing issues with insights from Afrofuturist literature, process theology and community values

Dr. Coleman’s strength comes from the depth of her knowledge base and from her experiences as a community organizer, survivor of sexual violence and as an individual who lives with a mental health challenges.

Coleman speaks widely on mental wellness, navigating change, religious diversity, and religious responses to intimate partner violence. Coleman is based in Wilmington, Delaware, and lives in an intergenerational household where she is an avid vegan cook and cyclist.

Reviews

[Marilyn Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic tool for those battling depression

Following Dr. Monica Coleman’s 40-day-walk as she ties in faith and the correlation to depression made me go two days at a time. Her theology alongside the understanding of how to manage depression was a helpful tool that will serve anyone trying to fight this daily struggle with trying to handle mental illness. Her personal stories really sealed each message. I would recommend this to others.

[Jennifer Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly the best book I've ever read that reflects on Christian thought and mental illness. Nothing in this book is trite, cloying, or even content that I've heard before. After decades of mental illness in Christ-worshipping setting, I did not expect I could find any depression-related devotional text that could offer me something new. This book offered me only novel content and things to consider in my life moving forward. I will certainly reread it in another season of life.

[Luke Hillier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited to see this included on the reading list for my seminary's Pastoral Care class because I've really appreciated Coleman's work elsewhere, but it fell a bit flat for me. I think the main problem is I just don't really like devotionals haha –– they just tend to be so general, and I'd much prefer a building argument/idea rather than little bursts of insight. So I read through this in 2 days rather than 40 and while I appreciated it, I don't think much will be that memorable for me. That said, I've had some mental health challenges in the past (and certainly resonated with aspects of the writing), but not to the extent that Coleman describes, and could imagine this being a real gift to those closer to her experience.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delighted to meet this fine book of spiritual practices for people living with depression. More resources like this would be a good and useful thing. Many was the time in my active ministry when I would wish for a book like this for spiritual groups and for individual use. 40 day format, so it fits well into the christian church year. Following this as a religious community would invite those who do not live with depression to approach greater appreciation and understanding, to open conversations, and to find the connections among us all. Rooted in the African American church traditions, we are invited regularly to faith and history for lifelines and resilience. Recommended.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I was disappointed in this series of reflections - while I found some of them interesting, most of them didn't really speak to me. They might be quite helpful to some, but they did not provide a perspective that I found particularly helpful. I'm not sure if that is due to religious differences between myself and the author (which I don't think are that wide) or differences in our experiences with mental illness. They're worth a try, but I would rather just re-read Andrew Solomon's writing about depression if I'm looking for a thoughtful and introspective read.