What Grows in Weary Lands: On Christian Resilience

by Tish Harrison Warren

How do we cultivate faith that endures?

Early Christians often grappled with a reality we rarely talk about in contemporary that God seems to abandon the soul at times, leaving us feeling as if we are alone and left to our own resources. For centuries, times of 'aridity' were seen as necessary – prerequisites for growth and maturity. Yet in our culture fixated on speed and optimisation, we risk losing this deeper sense of the human journey and the resilience that comes with it.

Drawing from her own season of exhaustion and also from the rich well of Christian tradition – particularly the earliest Christian monks – Warren explores the habits and mindsets that anchor us through doubt, difficulty and spiritual dryness. She helps us see that nothing is wasted – that, even in desert seasons, something good is growing, rooted in grace and reaching toward glory.

What Grows in Weary Lands speaks to anyone longing for a life of depth in a distracted age and guides us toward lives of resilience, renewal and flourishing.

Ebury The Home Of Christian Living. Drawing on the deep roots of Christianity to cultivate curious minds and inspire faith-informed growth.

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2026

About the author

Tish Harrison Warren is a priest in the Anglican Church in North America. After eight years with InterVarsity Graduate and Faculty Ministries at Vanderbilt and The University of Texas at Austin, she now serves as co-associate rector at Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She writes regularly for The Well, CT Women (formerly her.meneutics), and Christianity Today. Her work has also appeared in Comment Magazine, Christ and Pop Culture, Art House America, and elsewhere. She and her husband Jonathan have two young daughters.

Reviews

[Abby Deer]

Woah. I don’t fully have the words to explain what this book did to me or what I am feeling (in a good way!). So I’m doing something I’ve never done before: starting it over again today from the beginning!! I’ll be back with a full review later.

[Amy Nguyen]

I received this ARC e-reader thanks to Netgalley.

Tish is an incredible writer. With each reading session, I felt my soul slow down. I felt the invitation thrown out-to persevere, to faithfully show up, to consistently seek God. Rich, deep insights are generously woven into each chapter. Her writing inspires me to write. Beautiful, poetic, and thoughtful.

[Charles Hunt]

This book is a quiet miracle. In a world obsessed with quick fixes and constant output, Tamara Warren does something rare and beautiful, she slows us down, draws us into the ancient wisdom of the desert monks, and whispers what our hurried hearts desperately need to hear: you have not been forgotten

[Rev AJBawtree]

Keep going - not too high nor too low just day by day

A gentle yet encouraging read for those Christians who might feel scorched at the edges or finding life really hard.
I think reading this will be a blessing like a cool glass of water on a blazing hot afternoon.