Surviving the Unthinkable: Choosing to Live After Someone You Love Chooses to Die
By Don J. Payne and Gordon MacDonald
5/5
()
About this ebook
Don J. Payne
Don J. Payne is Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Theology and Ministry at Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado. After earning the MDiv from Denver Seminary, he served for eight years as a minister in the Evangelical Free Church of America. He holds the PhD from the University of Manchester (Nazarene Theological College).
Read more from Don J. Payne
Already Sanctified: A Theology of the Christian Life in Light of God's Completed Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trinitarian Formation: A Theology of Discipleship in Light of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Surviving the Unthinkable
Related ebooks
Hidden With Christ: Breaking Free from the Grip of Your Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEncountering God's Heart for You: 365 Devotions from Genesis through Revelation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoments of Peace in the Wisdom of God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Talking in the Dark: Praying When Life Doesn't Make Sense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn His Presence: A 365-Day Christian Devotional Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExperiencing Intimacy with God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fanning the Flame: Igniting Intimacy with God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe Strong and Take Heart: 40 Days to a Hope- Filled Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlourish: Prayers for a Well-Tended Heart Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoments of Comfort for the Morning: Daily Reminders of God's Love and Promises Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMessy Faith: Daring to Live by Grace Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Unreconciled: The New Norm Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFestival in the Desert: Learning to Rejoice in the Difficult Seasons of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Upper Room Disciplines 2021: A Book of Daily Devotions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlmost There: Searching for Home in a Life on the Move Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShed Those Leaves: Emerge to Live Free, True, and Strong Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod Speaks to the Broken Hearted Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBroken and Blessed - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: How God Used One Imperfect Family to Change the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ezekiel Guide: Soul of a Prophet Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe God Who Fights for You: How He Shows Up in Your Suffering Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gift of Forgiveness (Women of the Word Bible Study Series) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNever Alone: Exchanging Your Tender Hurts for Gods Healing Grace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOpening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFruit of the Spirit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThirst Quenched: A Woman at the Well Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI'm Accepted: WALKing the Journey from Rejection to Freedom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWarrior - Designed for Purpose: 30 Day Devotional for Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNew Christian Believer's Guide: Rooted and Grounded in Love, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHavens of Hope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grief Observed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Undistracted: Capture Your Purpose. Rediscover Your Joy. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5NIV, Holy Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Surviving the Unthinkable
1 rating1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Going through the same thing. Just lost my Bestfriend yesterday so don’t know how to keep going. This book has really helped me
Book preview
Surviving the Unthinkable - Don J. Payne
Surviving the Unthinkable
Choosing to Live After Someone You Love Chooses to Die
Don J. Payne
Foreword by Gordon MacDonald
resource.jpgSURVIVING THE UNTHINKABLE
Choosing to Live After Someone You Love Chooses to Die
Copyright © 2015 Don J. Payne. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
Resource Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401
www.wipfandstock.com
ISBN 13: 978-1-4982-3063-6
EISBN 13: 978-1-4982-3064-3
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
1. Restaurants
2. Mars
3. New
4. Caring
Conclusion
Bibliography
To my family
Foreword
Some months ago, our oldest granddaughter, Erin, a college senior, called to say that a personal friend of hers had ended his life. To describe her as distraught, momentarily inconsolable, would be an understatement. My wife, Gail, and I tried hard to be a source of strength to our granddaughter, but we both shared the troubling feeling that there were many things we simply did not understand as to why one would want to terminate life and what might be the effect upon those who are known as suicide-survivors.
Then, just a few days after Erin’s phone call, a good friend, Dr. Don Payne, reached me and asked if I would consider writing a brief foreword to a book which was to be titled, Surviving the Unthinkable. He’d written the book, he said, out of the experience of losing his brother, Bob, to a death by suicide.
Of course, I said yes.
Soon a draft of Don’s manuscript was in my hands. I read it straight through—unable to put it down—and was deeply touched. My first thought upon finishing Surviving the Unthinkable was that it was exactly what our granddaughter needed while in the grasp of her own deep grief. With Don’s permission I immediately emailed my copy to her. A day later Erin phoned me. Her gratitude for the book was immense. As had been my experience, the book had touched her broken heart.
I am confident that that same experience will happen to many others when this wonderful Don-Payne writing reaches them. In one of the book’s earliest paragraphs, the author says of himself and his family, We are now members of a club that no one wants to join.
Don goes on to describe exactly what that club membership
(so to speak) entails. As a storyteller he narrates the horrific chain of events that loved ones, the survivors, experience as they try to make sense of the loss of one whom they have loved and would do anything to have back.
But Surviving the Unthinkable is not just a story about emotional and spiritual pain. You see, Don Payne is an experienced theologian, and, calling upon his theological disciplines and extensive knowledge of the Scriptures, he offers a treasure of insights for any reader seeking a way to think about such unspeakable tragedies.
I’m grateful that throughout this book Dr. Payne never attempts to go for easy answers to the matter of suicide. He writes with a startling candor. You can easily detect his paralyzing bewilderment, his unbearable anguish when the call comes informing him that his brother is gone. But there is also an obvious maturity and wisdom that quickly rises to stabilize his tumbling soul.
In the course of the book Don Payne speaks of the evil embedded in the act of suicide. He talks about how it radiates deep hurt into a multitude of people. He puts words like forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption on the table and offers clarity about how they work. Oh, let me also add: there’s a lot of hope in this book. But it’s a hope scarred by a torment none of us would ever volunteer to undergo.
I am encouraged by Don Payne’s description of the goodness of people (friends) who genuinely cared for him and his grieving family. And I was warmed by what Don calls weird
(his word-choice) incidents which he doesn’t bother to defend but which provoke consoling effects. The reader wonders, were these weird things also part of God’s way of speaking into Don Payne’s life? And the answer as far as I’m concerned? Probably.
Toward the end of this intimate book are interesting bits of counsel that may surprise a reader or two. Samples? Don says partying
(with good friends, of course) is helpful. Wholesome laughter is important. And for Don Payne anyway, drinking lots of upscale flavored coffee is a must. I would not have expected this last one, but it worked for him.
Let me be frank. Whether or not you are a survivor of a suicidal event, you need to read every word of this book. Don’t skim it. Rather, let it trickle down into your soul. That’s what I did. And that’s what our granddaughter, Erin, did. And, in both of our experiences God spoke powerfully through the words of a special friend.
Gordon MacDonald
Chancellor, Denver Seminary
Preface
In the small bookcase directly across from my desk is a book entitled If You Want to Write. I have never read it. It belonged, somewhat ironically, to my brother, who envisioned himself as something of a writer—and whose suicide was the occasion for this book. I did not want to write this book. In the course of our lives most of us occasionally stumble across and are forced to face daunting tasks