Evangelical Anxiety: A Memoir - Paperback

by Charles Marsh (Author)

In this riveting spiritual memoir, the writer, scholar, and commentator tells the story of his struggles with mental illness, explores the void between the Christian faith and scientific treatment, and forges a path toward reconciling these divergent worlds.

For years, Charles Marsh suffered panic attacks and debilitating anxiety. As an Evangelical Christian, he was taught to trust in the power of God and His will. While his Christian community resisted therapy and personal introspection, Marsh eventually knew he needed help. To alleviate his suffering, he made the bold decision to seek medical treatment and underwent years of psychoanalysis.

In this riveting spiritual memoir, Marsh tells the story of his struggle to find peace and the dramatic, inspiring transformation that redefined his life and his faith. He examines the tensions between faith and science and reflects on how his own experiences offer hope for bridging the gap between the two. Honest and revealing, Marsh traces the roots of shame, examines Christian notions of sex, faith, and mental illness and their genesis, and chronicles how he redefined his beliefs and rebuilt his relationship with his community.

A poignant and vital story of deep soul work, Evangelical Anxiety helps us look beyond the stigma that leaves too many people in pain and offers people of faith a way forward to find the help they need while remaining true to their beliefs.

This unflinching memoir of faith and mental illness explores:

• A Crisis of Faith and Mind: A raw, first-person account of a terrifying breakdown at Harvard Divinity School and the debilitating anxiety that followed, forcing a confrontation between spirit and psyche.
• Evangelical Culture from the Inside: An honest look at the evangelical subculture of the Deep South, from its rigid ideas about sex and purity to its deep-seated resistance to therapy and psychology.
• The Turn to Psychoanalysis: Why a man raised to believe prayer was the only answer chose the bold, often misunderstood path of psychoanalysis, and what he discovered on the couch about his past, his faith, and his God.
• Deconstruction and Rebuilding: Follow the author's journey as he redefines his beliefs, challenges the faith of his childhood, and rebuilds a new foundation strong enough to hold both doubt and devotion.
• A Path to Healing: Beyond the stigma, a moving testimony for people of faith struggling with mental health, offering a way forward that honors both their beliefs and their need for help.