Review of "Gratitude in Life's Trenches"

I received a review copy of Gratitude in Life's Trenches: How To Experience the Good Life Even When Everything Is Going Wrong. 

As I read through the book, I found some parts that really spoke to me, and other parts that I wished had more depth. The book covered topics that I have been interested in for the past several years, and that influenced my reactions to the ideas that author Robin Phillips presents. I think that if I were new to more of the information, I would have found it more engaging. I believe that readers who are looking for an introduction to topics like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness will find this book more profitable than will someone who is already familiar with these concepts. 

However, I did enjoy reading about ideas that appear in present-day therapy from an Orthodox perspective. When I've learned about these ideas from secular sources, I always test whether they fit with my understanding of Orthodoxy, and it was really nice to read the work of an author who is making those connections directly. For example, when Phillips wrote about our perceived meanings of traumatic experiences versus the "actual meaning I can have access to" (pg. 148), I appreciated that he used Bible verses to demonstrate God's truth that genuinely conquers what our feelings might tell us.

Some of the parts in the book that engaged me the most were when Phillips shared his own struggles with depression and anxiety after some major upheaval occurred in his life. I always appreciate hearing people's real-life experiences of healing and learning to process their traumatic experiences. However, I was disappointed that he seemed to leave off in the middle of talking about his own experiences, and he never came back to how he moved through the difficult time that he was in. 

Just as I was intrigued by Phillips's real experience, by the same token, I found other examples that he used less satisfying. I found that he included a lot of stories in which it was unclear whether the characters were actual people whose names he had changed, or whether they were fictional examples that he came up with. I found this distracting because stories about how people improve their lives are more meaningful and convincing to me if I know that they really happened. These examples often felt generic to me, and that made it difficult for me to connect with them.

Overall, Gratitude in Life's Trenches is a book that I hoped I would enjoy more. I think some readers will really appreciate it and find that it gives them tools for healthier ways of approaching their struggles in life. It seems to me that it works best as an introduction or overview for those who want to begin learning about topics like thinking errors, re-framing, mindfulness, and intentional gratitude. Personally, I was looking for more in-depth discussion, and it was too often the case that the book skimmed the surface but didn't delve deeper into the topics that interested me.