Tending To My Thoughts: A Doctor with Severe Mental Illness Finds Recovery

Tending to My Thoughts continues the story of Sharon Hastings, a medical doctor and Christian living with severe mental illness. Her personal experience of recovery offers a starting point to help readers think through what recovery could look like for them or their loved ones. Peppered with personal anecdotes, shot through with medical knowledge and chock-full of helpful explanation, this book inspires hope and provides evidence that life with mental illness can improve. Sharon Hastings writes to encourage those who walk alongside people who are suffering, as well as to equip individual Christians and churches to effectively support those in recovery, particularly from severe mental illness. 'Wise and real.' Emma Scrivener 'A book that needs to be read by every pastor.' Rachael Newham 'I recommend it unreservedly.' Revd Will van der Hart 'Threaded with realism, practicality and hope.' Mark Meynell

About the Author :
Sharon Hastings graduated as a medical doctor but became a writer after being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder in her twenties. She lives in County Down with her husband, Rob, their young son, and two golden retrievers. Sharon enjoys seaside and forest walks, practising mindfulness, and reading – non-fiction for herself and children’s stories with her little one. She is passionate about improving understanding of severe mental illness in the Church.

Review :
'Wise and real, this book by Sharon draws on her experience of recovery as a doctor and a patient. It's an honest, practical and very helpful resource for those with severe mental health issues.' '"Tending to My Thoughts" is a book that needs to be read by every pastor. It not only illuminates the reality of living with severe mental illness, but points to the hope that is found in Jesus and the ways in which people can experience recovery even when a cure does not come. For fellow sufferers it provides a wise companion for the journey. Sharon writes with clarity - but more importantly with compassion - and this is a book I will return to time and again.' 'Sharon Hastings has followed up her powerful testimony Wrestling with my Thoughts with a book threaded with realism, practicality and, above all, hope. She never resorts to easy answers nor a pretence of plain sailing in her recovery. She is too vulnerably honest for that. But what she does do is to encourage all who read her hard-won words that things can change. A more positive future, even within the darkest constraints of mental illness, is not just possible but available. Thank you Sharon!' 'A unique and brilliant book full of realism and hope. Sharon walks us through her journey of recovery. She speaks with raw honesty, not hiding her failures or glossing over her pain. Recovery is not simply cure, but living a life that is filled with purpose, and even joy, despite battling mental illness. She examines those tools that she has found helpful, looking at them through a Christian lens. I found the last chapter, on our eternal hope, most encouraging. As you read this book you will find yourself engaged with the story and helped by Sharon's wisdom.' 'Sharon is one of my favourite mental health writers - She is seriously intelligent, deeply practical and disarmingly honest. Tending To My Thoughts exhibits the best of her writing in perhaps the most helpful exploration of serious mental illness that you will ever read. It combines personal account, expert opinion, and vital faith in equal measure. I recommend it unreservedly.'