Learning to Lament Book Review

This book is a wonderful pastorally sensitive work on learning to grieve well.

Is it permissible to grieve? And how do we do it?

Paul Mallard answers these questions and more in Learning to Lament. Paul pastorally works through the difficulties of learning how to grieve in a Christ-like way. Lamentation is an expression of faith (p.17), and Paul seeks to help his readers learn to express their faith in lamentation well.

Paul is honest throughout this book. He interweaves his own stories, and the stories of Biblical characters, into a theological tapestry of lament. Lament strengthens our “theological grasp,” Paul writes, “But it is a theology forged in the fires of affliction” (p.79).

With this God, there is room to feel pain and voice our griefs (p.15). “The Bible allows us to be honest. It gives us permission to lament … Today, we live between Eden and the new creation, and this place is a vale of tears” (p.16-17). And our Heavenly Father is the One we need to rely on to live and grieve well in this vale.

There are a growing number of books on lamentation today, but this one stands out as an honest, pastoral work. It is worth reading, if not immediately for yourself, then for someone you know who is experiencing grief and loss. I do have issues with content on page 83, but outside of that one page, it is a theologically solid book. I recommend it to you for your good and joy!

You can read the full review, and find a thread of selected quotes from the book on Twitter/X via the link below.

You can find my highlights from the book here: https://t.co/KZzS5HlBzB

— Standing Before God (@SBGB19) December 23, 2023

If you would like to buy the book, I recommend using Union Publishing: https://www.unionpublishing.org/product/learning-to-lament-paul-mallard/

If you are in the USA, I recommend using 10ofthose usa: https://us.10ofthose.com/product/9781739342661/learning-to-lament-paperback