Sometimes good things come in twos. I am happy to announce my other new book – Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know. This book is part of the series from Augustine Institute and Ignatius Press that seeks to educate Catholics with laser focus on particular topics. “What Every Catholic Should Know” means that the book is designed for regular Catholics, not for some group of specialists. It is my hope that this book helps a lot of people think about, pray about and work through their own experiences of suffering.

Why Write a Book about Suffering?

Everybody suffers. There’s no way around it. Life is wonderful, but it can also be terrible. The more you love, the more it hurts. It would be nice if everything were always perfect and comfortable, but we get sick, have problems, struggle with relationships and careers. Cancer, war, debt, depression–I mean, you don’t have to look too far to find examples of suffering. It’s everywhere. There are a lot of books out there about suffering, but it’s a hard topic to write about, so many of the books are too long or too philosophical or tell too many personal stories without getting to the point. I couldn’t find the book I wanted to read out there, so I decided to write it.

What I am trying to do in this book is get at the heart of the question: Why do we suffer and how can we make sense of it if God is all-loving, all-good and all-powerful? And yet, I wanted to hit the topic from multiple angles so that we can get past the abstract stuff to the more practical strategies for living. My experience has been that a little theological thinking about suffering goes a long way. Once we take up the tradition of Christian biblical theology on this topic, we get some new insights, new perspectives, new ways of coping with the most pressing problems. No, this book won’t take away all of your suffering, but it might help a bit.

Table of Contents

Here’s a sneak preview of the Table of Contents:

• Chapter 1     Suffering Is an Experience of Evil
• Chapter 2     Suffering Disorients Us
• Chapter 3     Suffering Tests Us
• Chapter 4     Suffering Saves Us
• Chapter 5     Does God Suffer?
• Chapter 6     The Many Forms of Suffering
• Chapter 7     Suffering Is Personal
• Chapter 8     Coping with Suffering
• Chapter 9     Redeeming Suffering
• Chapter 10     Suffering on Purpose
• Chapter 11     Preparing for Death
• Chapter 12     Suffering Transforms Us

Books in the What Every Catholic Should Know Series

• Being Catholic by Suzie Andres
• The Bible edited by Tim Gray
• God by Elizabeth Klein
• Literature by Joseph Pearce
• Mercy by Fr. Daniel Moloney
• Philosophy by Peter Kreeft
• Salvation by Michael Patrick Barber
• Suffering by Mark Giszczak

Where to Buy

You can find my new book at a couple different sites:

1. Catholic Market: https://catholic.market/what-every-catholic-should-know/suffering-what-every-catholic-should-know/
2. Amazon: https://a.co/d/bOfiVzm

When Will the Book be Released?

The release date for Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know is set for January 31, 2024.

I hope you enjoy my new book and I’m looking forward to sharing it with everyone. Suffering is such an important topic–one close to heart for all of us.