Called by Name: A Memoir

by Anna Shane Stadick

As a Christian raised in the late 90's, Anna Shane Stadick planned on being the "perfect Christian" and dreamed about finding the love of her life. She never planned on sitting in her garage inhaling carbon monoxide, begging the voice in her head to let her leave.

Anna's hopes and beliefs were robbed of her, replaced with a struggle to navigate her Bipolar Disorder diagnosis. How could a God who called her by name leave her in devastating darkness?

"Does everything have a purpose?" and "why is God silent?" These are the questions Anna confronts after a night of traumatic hallucinations, a week in a mental hospital, and a mess of pill bottles that wreak havoc upon her mind.

Called by Name is an honest memoir about a young woman unraveling her faith and piecing it together again.

294 pages, Paperback

Published July 6, 2021

About the author

Anna Shane Stadick lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two sons. Anna has her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goddard College. She spends her time cooking, going on walks in the neighborhood, taking bubble baths, and beating her friends at cards. Find her online at annashanestadick.com.

Reviews

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by this book. The honesty is refreshing. I love how realistic this is. On many levels (not necessarily bipolar) I can identify. I, too, used to deal with tense anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts and I can vouch that the voices that sound off on your head can try to push out the love and possibly of God’s words and grace. I saw myself on a few parts of Anna’s story, especially the whole trying to figure things out. The insecurity issues were also a tugging moment for me. I dealt with insecurity about my body, my voice, my emotions, everything.

I enjoyed this book so much and I am grateful that I went on wimp and purchased it. I cried, laugh, held the book on shock, but it all goes back to God.

[Rebekah Tyne McKamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, relatable read

This was such a wonderful peek into the life of a young Christian woman (who also happens to have bipolar disorder). So much was relatable, which made the manic episodes and seasons of depression stand out and feel so real. I loved the use of concrete images and descriptions throughout to help me distinguish among the many emotions, "characters", and locations.

I appreciated the pace and structure, but I would have loved to see more in the last part of the book after regaining faith. There were also a few minor proofreading errors and the formatting was a bit distracting at times. But overall, thank you for a great read and for helping me understand a bit more about myself along the way.