Hopeful Sorrow: Turning to God in Hope When Childhood Wounds Have You Turning Away

by Julie Busler

Did you grow up feeling unloved, unseen, and insecure? Do you still feel this way today? If so, you’re not alone.

Our earliest relationships become the blueprint for how we relate to others later in life, including God. But what happens when those childhood relationships have left you wounded?

In Hopeful Sorrow, Julie Busler shares her journey through childhood trauma, emotional neglect, and grief, showing that turning from childhood wounds to God in hope begins with turning toward them in sorrow. Through the biblical practice of lament – bringing honest pain and questions to God – she demonstrates how acknowledging sorrow can lead to hope, resilience, and renewed faith.
Blending personal stories with insight from Scripture, Julie will equip you Face and process childhood pain with hope and forgiveness. Stop hiding pain and find peace in God’s presence. Navigate feelings of abandonment and neglect. Trust God as a loving Father. Break family patterns that have been breaking you. 
The lens through which we see our parents naturally affects how we view God, but there is hope! We really can attach to Him as a loving Father and learn to live securely in His love.
 

Genres: Christian Non Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published September 23, 2025

About the author

Julie Busler is a Bible teacher, author, and speaker who is passionate about helping people find hope and joy even in the midst of sorrow. As a mental health advocate, she has authored two books: Joyful Sorrow: Breaking Through the Darkness of Mental Illness and Hopeful Sorrow: Turning To God in Hope When Childhood Wounds Have You Turning Away. She is also a contributing author to Lifeway Women’s Bible study, Grateful. Her heart for evangelism led to her serving as the Oklahoma president of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) from 2020-2024. Julie, and her husband, Ryan, have 4 children and have served as missionaries in Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Turkey. Connect with Julie on her website: www.juliebusler.com, or on social media: @juliebusler.

Reviews

[Courtney Devich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have done years of therapy, which has been greatly beneficial to my healing and my attempts to parent my children differently. This book is not meant to replace all that time in therapy (which still is very essential to healing), but this book complements and comes alongside someone in that journey very well! Julie uses insights and psychology to guide the reader through their childhood wounds, but she ALWAYS pairs it with and points you back to the Bible, which is a must. If childhood wounds have left you feeling distant from God, Julie's book is the compassionate hand you need in your journey home to His loving arms. Thank you, Julie, for this much-needed book!

[Fadia Dib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow.

At the risk of sounding cliché, this book was a balm to my heart and soul.

Julie Busler offers profound insight into healing from childhood trauma and emotional struggles, grounding everything in both scripture and psychology. She emphasizes the importance of the gospel, ministry, a solid support system, and therapy.

I learned how to pray lamentations, how to truly lament to God and confide in Him. There were so many exemples from the bible explaining why and how to do this.

It was deeply eye-opening, and I genuinely felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in those pages.

I think some passages could be triggering to some people, for exemple there's a lot of talk of suicide, childhood neglect, physical or emotional abuse, etc. But it's done very graciously. Some parts had me emotional and resonated deeply where I need healing.

I’m so grateful to have received an e-copy from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts. I’ll be buying a physical copy as soon as it’s released. I want to keep it in my favorites shelf and share it with others.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day your sorrow will end—but not today. Until you grieve your painful childhood, it’s hard to thrive in adulthood. Just as a parent is a vital necessity to a child, God is a vital necessity to us. If our parent was distant and didn’t make us feel safe, we will have difficulty trusting and attaching to God.
The wounds we suffered as children affect the relationship we have with our children. In order to heal, we must recognize the wound is there. Then we will be able to seek the help we need.
Throughout the book, the author speaks of lamenting–bringing our pain and questions to God, as we see repeated in The Bible.
The author refers us to the community laments in The Bible: Psalms 44, 83, and 93 for example. I would encourage anyone carrying hurts suffered in childhood to read this book. I found it to be comforting and encouraging.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about the gift of lament when we are going through seasons of grief, confusion, and doubt. It's written in a compassionate, tender tone. The author has had several seasons of lament in her life and wisely weaves her personal stories with biblical truths. I like how she uses several chapters toward the end of the book to describe seasons where we will need to lament. These chapters have practical value for many. It's a good book to give not just when someone's loved one has died, but in any season where someone is trying to make sense of the hard things in life.

[Larinee Sileven Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished listening to Hopeful Sorrow. What a powerful message! It was so good to hear the author’s own voice telling her own story. I appreciated hearing the exact places she wanted to emphasize as the author.

God has given her such wisdom to rightly understand how the human experience is informed by the past but not defined by the past. I loved how much of her writing was infused with scripture. She wove it all together so beautifully!

Well done!

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book; weaving honesty, hope, psychological insight and biblical wisdom together to create a book that is so helpful and heartfelt.