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A Pelican of the Wilderness: Depression, Psalms, Ministry, and Movies
After serving for more than thirty years as a parish minister, the author was hospitalized with major depression. This is the story of his depression and recovery-a recovery of health, vocation, and faith. First, Griggs regained the experience of small pleasures. Eventually, he recovered the ability to choose, to set limits, and to accept reality. He then turned to the biblical Psalms-indeed his own writing echoes their candor. But he also found hope in films, including Breakfast at Tiffany's and Blazing Saddles. To the mental health issues facing clergy and others in the helping professions Griggs brings to bear insights from research and from his own experience as a pastor and a person recovering from depression. He tells his story with spirit and humor.
178 pages, Paperback
First published March 20, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 24, 2014
Full disclosure: the author was the long-time minister of the church I've been going to since the early 80's. The book is based on the journals he kept as he went through hospitalization, recovery, relapse, and slower recovery from severe depression. I hear his voice on every page, and I don't know how much my high opinion of the book reflects that. He notes in the first chapter that he went overnight from being the fairly successful pastor of a fairly successful church to being in a locked ward where they took away his belt and shoelaces for his own protection. They gave him a pill that didn't let him sleep, it "crushed me to sleep". When he awoke, "A perky young nurse poked her head in the door and--I swear to God--asked me, 'Are we feeling suicidal this morning?' I couldn't help but break out laughing, which didn't seem to daunt her." At least he kept some part of his sense of humor, even at the worst. Another quote, this time from his description of his first session with his psychiatrist:
To be honest, his opening psychological gambit didn't seem to be all that clever: "So, Bob, what's up?" What to say to such a probing question? Well, in my case, my need to impress and please those in authority immediately kicked in, and I started telling him how well I was doing. I went on about how much I had learned in group and how much I had learned about myself. What had happened to me, I said, was an aberration. For a brief time all the stars had misaligned, and such a thing would never happen to me again. I felt proud of using an apt and uncommon word like "aberration," and I liked the metaphor of the misaligned stars. As I did so often, I evaluated my talk while I talked.
This kind of direct honesty sustains the entire book. (Needless to say, at this point he was a long, long way from getting better.) The book is not heavy on theology--although he is frank about his struggles with belief, frequently noting his dependence on the Psalms and his recognition in them of a writer describing the same loss, loneliness, helplessness, and despair he was experiencing. His reading of Job helped me a lot. But at one point, typically self-evaluative, he notes ruefully that when a woman asked him a simple question, he "opened up a can of theology on her." The book is finally very positive and hopeful. It is a frank and open description of depression, very helpful for anyone who has suffered from even the faint hints of this terrible disease.
To be honest, his opening psychological gambit didn't seem to be all that clever: "So, Bob, what's up?" What to say to such a probing question? Well, in my case, my need to impress and please those in authority immediately kicked in, and I started telling him how well I was doing. I went on about how much I had learned in group and how much I had learned about myself. What had happened to me, I said, was an aberration. For a brief time all the stars had misaligned, and such a thing would never happen to me again. I felt proud of using an apt and uncommon word like "aberration," and I liked the metaphor of the misaligned stars. As I did so often, I evaluated my talk while I talked.
This kind of direct honesty sustains the entire book. (Needless to say, at this point he was a long, long way from getting better.) The book is not heavy on theology--although he is frank about his struggles with belief, frequently noting his dependence on the Psalms and his recognition in them of a writer describing the same loss, loneliness, helplessness, and despair he was experiencing. His reading of Job helped me a lot. But at one point, typically self-evaluative, he notes ruefully that when a woman asked him a simple question, he "opened up a can of theology on her." The book is finally very positive and hopeful. It is a frank and open description of depression, very helpful for anyone who has suffered from even the faint hints of this terrible disease.
June 10, 2014
This is about a pastor who holds degrees from Harvard Divinity School, University of Minnesota and Andover Newton Theological School who suffered severe depression to the extent of attempting suicide.
...
With all the degrees and experience of serving the same church as pastor for twenty-six years Robert Griggs had lot of knowledge and helped a lot of people. However, he discovered in the Psych Unit that he is dried up—literally, because the chemicals that help people to keep their balance (like Serotonin and Norepinephrine) had dried up in his brain. These had to be replenished through rest and medications. He had to be trained to cope with life with the help of his doctors and fellow inmates over a period of five weeks that he was in the ‘loony bin.’ He had to readmitted for another week because he seems to have ignored the lessons he learnt.
... Read the full review at http://academia.co.in/reviews/archive...
...
With all the degrees and experience of serving the same church as pastor for twenty-six years Robert Griggs had lot of knowledge and helped a lot of people. However, he discovered in the Psych Unit that he is dried up—literally, because the chemicals that help people to keep their balance (like Serotonin and Norepinephrine) had dried up in his brain. These had to be replenished through rest and medications. He had to be trained to cope with life with the help of his doctors and fellow inmates over a period of five weeks that he was in the ‘loony bin.’ He had to readmitted for another week because he seems to have ignored the lessons he learnt.
... Read the full review at http://academia.co.in/reviews/archive...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews