Healing is a Choice

In Healing is a Choice, Stephen Arterburn presents ten choices that he suggests will help one to heal and change one's life. Each choice is presented along side a lie that is described as an obstacle that keeps one from making those choices. For example: The "Choice to Preserve" contradicts the lie "There is no hope for me." Arterburn gives directions for how to change one's thinking and consequently one's life. The challenge, of course, lies in deciding to try them and following through with the changes.

Although I am not a fan of the self-help genre, I agreed to review this book because I was intrigued by the title and the blurb on the back cover “Do you want to get well? … 'He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.' (Psalm 147:3)”

My first impression upon receiving this book was regarding its size—a hefty 457 pages. While I found many of the concepts in this book to be salient and rousing, the text was laborious and tedious at times. The volume that I am reviewing combines the book and a supplemental workbook, previously published separately. The workbook portion at the end of each chapter includes additional readings—stories, prayers, songs, poems—and questions to answer. These exercises were wearying (so I skipped most of them) and, for me, not useful. Without having seen it, I will go out on a limb and suggest that the original book (without workbook) would be a good choice for one interested in Aterburn's path healing.

We all have past hurts of various origins (and might even feel that we are alone in our suffering). This book’s reach is substantial, covering many topics, and manages to reveal the common threads in our personal histories. The combination of text and workbook would likely work well for a recovery ministry, prison outreach, or other group setting.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review; the opinions I have expressed are my own.