Anxiety, Depression, Opioid addiction, Suicide. These are some of the struggles that have been thrust upon parents and families in our modern era. Here are a few good books I’ve read and recommended over the past few years if you’re walking any these paths yourself or with someone else.

Life’s Healing Choices: Freedom From Your Hurts, Hang-ups, and Habits by John Baker. This book is the foundation for Celebrate Recovery, which is proving to be a great resources for communities and churches. It’s worth reading if just for the personal testimonies of transformation that will give you hope to overcome whatever struggle your are facing.

Hope in the Dark: Believing God is Good When Life is Not by Craig Groeschel. Craig’s personal story of struggling with his daughters illness, along with his decades of pastoral experience.

Love is Oxygen: How God Can Give You Life and Change Your World by Jarrid Wilson. Jarrid’s personal journey through anxiety and depression. Demonstrates the power of love and specifically God’s love in overcoming these today.

Stronger: How Hard Times Reveal God’s Greatest Power by Clayton King. Clayton’s personal story of loss and hardship and the lessons learned in the school of suffering over the course of a believers life.

Letting Go: Rugged Love for Wayward Souls by Dave Harvey and Paul Gilbert. Tough love is tough. This book gives direction in how to advance tough love in relationships with those closest to you. Lots of real life stories throughout as well.

On Pills and Needles: The Relentless Fight to Save My Son from Opioid Addiction by Rick van Warner. Rick’s story is from a faith perspective and the perspective of a restaurant manager, where drug addiction seems to thrive. You can hear his story on Family Life Radio’s Podast Here.

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy. Good primer on understanding the rise of opioid production and abuse in America. Macy was a reporter in Appalachia and had a front row seat to its devastation over the last few decades. 

Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff. Now a major motion picture. And now a series of books that includes two books by his son, Nick, who was a Meth Addict. This book shares the reality of this struggle from a parents perspective. Sheff does not come from a faith perspective. He is a journalist and writer. Well researched and personal.

Not My Child: A Progressive and Proactive Approach for Healing Addicted Teenagers and Their Families by Frank Lawlis. From the clinical perspective. Lots of great tips for families going through the struggle of addiction with teenagers.

Caring for One Another: 8 Ways to Cultivate Meaningful Relationships by Ed Welch. Anything by Ed Welch is worth reading for the believer who wants to know how to cope and what to say to those trying to cope. This short book helps with how to handle difficult conversations and how to talk about difficult things with people who are struggling.

Melissa: A Father’s Lessons from a Daughter’s Suicide by Frank Page. The real, personal, and raw journey of a family with a child experiencing mental illness and eventual suicide. Page’s pastoral experience makes this a practical guide for what to do and what to say for those wanting to help others.

When Your Teen Is Struggling: Real Hope and Practical Help for Parents Today by Mark Gregston. Anything by Mark Gregston is worth reading. And you can catch his daily podcast and other resources here.

What books or resources do you recommend to those going through life’s wilderness?