Mourning Into Dancing: Many Things Can Cause Sorrow, God Alone Turns Our Sadness into Joy

by Walter Wangerin Jr.

"Death doesn't wait till the ends of our lives to meet us and to make an end," says Walter Wangerin. "Instead, we die a hundred times before we die; and all the little endings on the way are like a slowly growing echo of the final BANG!" Yet out of our many losses, our "little deaths," comes a truer recognition of life. It is found in our relationships with ourselves, with our world, with others, and with our Creator. This is the dancing that can come out of the hope of restored relationships. Mourning into Dancing defines the stages of grief, names the many kinds of loss we suffer, shows how to help the grief-stricken, gives a new vision of Christ's sacrifice, and shows how a loving God shares our grief. We learn from this book that the way to dancing is through the valley of mourning--that grief is a poignant reminder of the fullness of life Christ obtained for us through his resurrection. In the words of writer and critic John Timmerman, Mourning into Dancing "could well be the most important book you ever read."

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Christian Living

304 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 1996

About the author

Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin's writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children's story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my mom’s bookshelf. Deep thoughts on the many kinds of death we die and the many ways our grieving is expressed. Full of hope in the end because God never leaves us and uses grief to bring us closer to Himself. And the greatest miracle of all - that Jesus defeated death and we by faith have life eternal!

[Jen Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite book on grief, 3rd read.

[Don Harton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was difficult to follow sometimes, but the destination is well worth a careful reading.

[Randall Hartman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A talented writer. Finished the book because it was a gift from my daughter who benefited from it. Otherwise, I probably would have put it down before finishing chapter 1. Personally, not my style, depressing, overplayed the "death" metaphor. Latter half seemed more like counseling psycho-babble with a scriptural veneer. Seemed typical of our finding principles in individual experience rather than applying God's scriptural principles to our lives. Even the title seems deceptive...it doesn't really get to that until the last page, has little to do with the book, and actually is a misuse of the passage from Psalm 30. For all these reasons, as well as Philip Yancey's glowing endorsement, I cannot not recommend it.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wangerin has a beautiful story-telling style. It's borderline flakey, but if you can get past that, you have the pleasure of stumbling across the deep truths that he conveys without stating them outright. The first section of the book is MUCH better than the remainder; I'd recommend stopping when he dedicates the book to his father at the end of the first section. The rest reads more like a self-help book about how to comfort the grieving - certainly helpful but not fitting very well in style with the rest.

[Dick Aichinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using faith to get through grief.

[Amy Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense book an grief and one of my favorites.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good grief book, but it's a little deep for someone who has just suffered a loss themselves. It's better suited for people wanting to support those suffering from grief.

[Danmcgohan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Condensending. Strong feeling of Wangerin's biases. He has more than one child, you would never know it from the book. Just did not feel comfortable with the book.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that explains grief and dealing with what comes after loss... it is one of the most beautiful and helpful books I have ever read.

[Beth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book about grief. So much scriptural and gospel truth, told in a beautiful way, as a story. A story that each of us will have to tell.