Devout
A Memoir of Doubt
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A “moving” (Leslie Jamison, author of The Recovering) memoir that reconciles the author’s bipolar disorder diagnosis and her Evangelical faith to create a new framework for which to live.
In this “dazzling” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) memoir, Anna Gazmarian tells the story of how her Evangelical upbringing in North Carolina failed to help her understand the mental health diagnosis she received, and the work she had to do to find proper medical treatment while also maintaining her faith.
When Anna is diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011, she’s faced with a conundrum: while the diagnosis provides clarity about her manic and depressive episodes, she must confront the stigma that her Evangelical community attaches to her condition. Over the course of ten years, we follow Anna on her journey to reframe her understanding of mental health to expand the limits of what her religious practice can offer.
In Devout: A Memoir of Doubt, Anna shows that pursuing our emotional health and our spiritual well-being is one single mission and, in both cases, an act of faith.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gazmarian's dazzling debut memoir delivers a potent examination of the intersection between faith and mental health. Raised as an evangelical Christian—a designation she continues to identify with—Gazmarian long struggled with religious doubt, which is often considered anathema in her spiritual circles. As a freshman in college, she was rebaptized in an attempt to quell that doubt. A short time later, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Seeking comfort in her faith, Gazmarian found that her religion ascribed nearly all negative sensations to Satan, and wondered whether her diagnosis was a test of her faith. Fighting near-constant thoughts of suicide, Gazmarian eventually found stability with the proper cocktail of prescription medications, an open-minded group of fellow believers, and her husband and baby daughter. Rather than demonize her religious beliefs for driving her shame, Gazmarian embarks on a measured and compassionate examination of the stigma around her condition. By resisting easy finger-pointing and making a strong case for treatment and acceptance, she extends a hand not only to religious people living with mental illness, but also their friends, families, and faith leaders. This deserves a wide readership.
