On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living
By Alan Noble (InterVarsity Press)
Life can be hard under any circumstances. For those who experience mental health issues, it can be overwhelming. Sometimes, it demands tremendous courage just to get out of bed in the morning.
Author Alan Noble understands what that means, based on personal experience. Noble, a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University, describes the decision to get out of bed as essentially “the decision to live.” In spite of panic attacks, depression or other maladies, another day of life is worth the risk.
In this brief-but-significant book, Noble provides a biblical and theological foundation for the simple act of getting out of bed. He presents it as a witness to others. To the degree that a person has the agency to choose, that person’s decision to get out of bed is a testimony to the goodness of God. To continue living when suffering is certain is a powerful affirmation of creation and of the Creator, Noble insists.
Noble offers no simplistic solutions or easy answers. He honestly acknowledges the tension in living between the reality that mental illness limits personal agency and the awareness it does not absolve a person of exercising whatever agency he or she possesses. Each person still has some degree of responsibility—both to rely on others and care for others.
The publisher releases On Getting Out of Bed April 18. Consider pre-ordering a copy today. Somebody you know needs it.
Ken Camp, Managing Editor
Baptist Standard
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