Hopeless: 30 uplifting devotionals for the chronically ill who struggle with depression and despair

by Shelly Benoit Hendricks

Depression, despair, discouragement. All of these difficult emotions come rushing into our lives and try to take over. They piggyback on chronic illness and are besties with disability. There’s no way to avoid the ugly when you live with chronic illness, but we don’t have to fall or climb down into the hole they leave in our lives. I want to share what God has taught me since learning I have a chronic illness. In this book, I have compiled 30 of my devotionals that best address the darker emotions that pair with our new normal, complete with discussion questions following each one.

116 pages, Paperback

Published November 22, 2015

About the author

Shelly Hendricks is a wife and mother of 2 amazing kids. They live the good life in South Louisiana. She was a teacher and a librarian in another life. She also suffers from Intracranial Hypertension and a yet-unnamed neuro degenerative disease, among a myriad of other issues mostly stemming from these two. She had brain surgery in 2012, to install a VP Shunt, and had a revision in January 2014. Though her condition continues to deteriorate, her spirit is constantly focused on eternity. Disability has been hard to deal with, but she depends on God for all strength and hopes to encourage others on this journey, through her blog at http://reneweddaily.com

Reviews

[Connie Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Shelley Benoit Hendricks, I love you! I am about to cry. We both suffer disabilities that make "normal" life seem extraordinary! I wish doctors would pass this book out to anyone in need of good, positive news when things go bad. Mine came on slow but keeps on adding. This book came along right when I needed it most. Friends and family like to turn away.

This book is for anyone with health issues. All health issues come under this heading. This is more than just devotionals. I just received this this morning and finally finished reading each section. It lifted me up. Ms. Hendrix begins each section with a scripture from the bible under the title. Wait! But then she talks to us in a paragraph. A few more uplifting scriptures. A few more paragraph, scripture, paragraph and scripture. They relate specifically to that day's devotional.

Then, she gets us thinking with three or four great questions to ponder on and room to write your answers. So, when you go back and re-read that section, your answers will be there to add to the positivity in your message. There are going to be very tough days when you wonder if you'll even have the strength or mental stamina to see you through the day. This will do that for you, with the divine help of our Lord. There are lighter ones also. I love this book. It feels like Shelly is right there with me helping me and there as my friend.

Thank you, Ms. Hendricks, for allowing me to win this book through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. I have read this book and have given my honest review.