The Deep Down Things
Practices for Growing Hope in Times of Despair
by Amber C. Haines; Seth Haines
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Pub Date Oct 17 2023 | Archive Date Nov 20 2023
Baker Academic & Brazos Press | Brazos Press
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Description
In 2019, when Amber Haines resigned from her position as church curate and walked out the church doors for the last time, she entered her own season of pain and despair. That season taught her--and her husband, Seth Haines--that the journey toward hope starts with recognizing "the deep down things."
In The Deep Down Things, Amber and Seth point to a simple truth: even in the darkest times, there are tangible signs of hope all around us. The authors demonstrate how tasting, touching, feeling, holding, and participating in these tangible acts of hope picks us up, builds our strength, and moves us into beauty, even in times of despair. They invite readers to participate with those signs of hope and thereby experience the divine love of God, even in the struggle of their everyday lives.
A lifeline for those who desperately need it, this book helps readers overcome despair, find hope, and spread that hope to an aching world.
Advance Praise
“In this book, Amber and Seth have written one sacred invitation after another—invitations into deeper honesty and deeper faith, more beauty and more grit, bolder raging and bolder praying. This book is beautifully written and heavily sense-drenched—if you love gardens and music and fishing and old homes and stories and families and land and silence, you’ll treasure these pages. And if your heart has been broken, you’ll find a kind companion in these pages too—as I read, I began to feel both more human and more beloved. I want to press this book into the hands of every person I know who is suffering and also seeking something sacred, which is basically all of us.”—Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet
“Amber and Seth Haines give us a powerful testament to the human spirit and the power of the Spirit we can tap to overcome adversity and despair. With honesty and vulnerability, they share their personal struggles and the discovery they found as they leaned into pain, sickness, and disappointments. As Amber so eloquently states, ‘This book is a light along the way’ for those feeling a little lost or unseen. The practical advice and inspiring stories will offer hope and motivation to all who read them. This book will draw you closer to your own strength in God and leave you feeling empowered to face whatever challenges life throws your way.”—Latasha Morrison, author of the New York Times bestseller Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation
“This book, a memoir laced in pain, is a mirror and a balm and an invitation to think truly and critically and kindly on your own story and your own faith.”—Annie F. Downs, New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds Fun
“In The Deep Down Things, Seth and Amber Haines, with their stunning writing, light a torch and guide you into the deeper streams. The vulnerability, accessibility, and invitation to try on what they write about in each chapter makes this more than a book; it is rather a holy experience. What you hold in your hands is special and timely, and if embodied, it can do wonders within.”—Steve Carter, pastor and author of The Thing Beneath the Thing
“The Deep Down Things is no regular, feel-good story. It is a modern epiphany of forest sounds and mud-caked hearts, gripping and transcendent. Amber and Seth Haines, at their shimmering best, nurture hope (and humor) from our darkest nights. Held in the sweet spot where honesty and faithfulness collide, this book will rattle your bones. It will shake your secrets loose. It will lead you to the feast.”—Shannan Martin, author of Start with Hello and The Ministry of Ordinary Places
“Every time I sat down to read this book, it felt like my body was taking a deep breath. To be guided with such authenticity, to be led by two modern Ozark mystics who have been in the tall grass of despair and grief, to be seen in such a deep-down way . . . you will not regret one moment spent inside this work of thoughtful love and spine-straightening hope.”—Erin Moon, resident Bible scholar on The Bible Binge podcast
“Honest to the bone, Seth and Amber dig deep to name the pain that has marred their stories, yet they artfully share that even in the darkest of seasons, hope blossoms and healing is our divine right no matter what we’ve lost or when we lost our way.”—Tiffany Bluhm, author of Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up
“Amber and Seth Haines challenge the narrative of despair that hangs in the air all around us, not by dismissing the darkness but by staring defiantly back with the love-light of hope in their eyes. In these pages, the faith, forgiveness, and healing the Haineses share are hard-won and costly. By offering their story, this book will remind you of an even deeper story: the foundations of the universe rest not in the chaos of despair but in the nail-pierced hands of love.”—Haley Stewart, author of The Grace of Enough; editor of Word on Fire Spark
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781587435638 |
| PRICE | $19.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 192 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Kaitlyn B, Reviewer
With storytelling that is thoughtful, honest, and at times poetic, Amber and Seth Haines have written a book that with prompt the reader to consider their own story and the threads woven through. While we do not agree on all the things (of course! that's true of, well, all of us at the end of the day), it read to me like an approachable "here's where we've landed" instead of "here's where you should/must land" and provided food for thought.
Kurt L, Reviewer
Amber and Seth both write in a way that gives vivid honor to the difficult places we find ourselves as well as some amazing ways to grow out of those places without minimizing them. Their call to embrace the breadth of life is refreshing and their honesty and vulnerability helps you just sink right into their words, knowing they'll take great care of you.
Jennie W, Reviewer
I am finishing up reading The Deep Down Things: Practices for Growing Hope in Times of Despair by Amber and Seth Haines (husband and wife). This is a book that would benefit those most that have dealt with suffering or are going through suffering, and who hasn’t!? So really it is a book for all of us!
They share their story and how they learn to deal with suffering by the daily focus and practice of turning to hope in their Christian beliefs. It was interesting reading the two perspectives of dealing with suffering. One was going through hard times, and the other was there to help support the process. It would be great for a husband and wife to read together and be encouraged and learn from. It is part memoir and part teaching. Now, I won’t agree with everything, as I have different beliefs, but I am familiar with Catholicism. They were previous Protestant, but changed to Catholics.
Andrea H, Reviewer
Sometimes it's the small things, the simple things, the deep down things that save your life when everything falls apart. As someone who learned this during her own season of sadness, confusion, and lost-ness, I'm so grateful that Amber & Seth Haines have written this book. It's the written equivalent of a friend sitting with you in the darkness, sharing their story so you don't feel so extremely alone, and saying, "Here's what helped me, how I got through...maybe these things might help you, too?" There's no pressure, just an invitation. They offer several means of working *through* the pain without ever invalidating or minimizing it. That makes this book a very generous gift.
Jessica P, Educator
Amber and Seth Haines show us how to gracefully work through "The Deep Down Things" aka the hard times, as they share their own stories with us. Amber shares how deep hurt from a spiritual leader affected her and changed the trajectory of her life as a fulcrum for the chapters and lessons in the book. I love how they shared real life with us, through real and gritty emotions. Yet through it all, they lead back on God and their faith.
Rachael N, Reviewer
Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc. This is a beautifully and poetic written book for those struggling - and those who appreciate beautiful writing about a beautiful God.
Laurel M, Reviewer
The Haines write for those who want to reach into the marrow of things, not those content on the surface. They encourage us to reach down deep, especially in those moments that seem impossible to bear, and give us some practices to live in hope, to defy the darkness.
As they shared their stories of deep pain and redemption, it reminded me of those places where my own wounds reside--where I still need to do the soul-work of opening them up to the Lord and allowing a posture of hope, rather than sealing them off while allowing the darkness to continue to fester.
I loved the sacramentality of this book. There is so much more to this material world than is seen at first glance. But we must have the eyes to see and the courage to face that which lies beneath the surface. They remind us that richness we will encounter is immeasurable.
Faith H, Reviewer
THE DEEP DOWN THINGS: PRACTICES FOR GROWING IN HOPE IN TIMES OF DESPAIR is a timely read that encourages readers to see their hard reality, rest in it, process and heal from it, but also to not give up on the return of hope.
Each chapter is split between reflections from Seth and Amber Haines over a common theme, and "practices" conclude each chapter to guide readers into practical ways to dwell on each theme.
On its surface, this can be viewed as an account of their conversion to Catholicism, but it also wrestles with the pain of being let down by individuals and systems, the grief in a lost vocation. Additionally, there are encouragements to be found in the example of the saints and artists such as Mary Magdalene and Gerard Manley Hopkins, as well as friends who help see you through.
I was particularly intrigued by the chapter on silence and also appreciated the analogy and the ministry of gardening. The Haines are transparent while also not naming individuals who have harmed them; this will be a welcome addition to books for individuals who have struggled through flawed religious systems and yet still find something to cling to.
(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)
Monica M, Reviewer
Its to good to read to fast for you just want to under line & highlight all the words of wisdom.
I like to read all over the place in a book and then from start to end. I keep this book by my bed to reach for when spirit wakes me in the middle of the night about something I need to think about. It so lovely written and I just think you all would enjoy this as I have! :)
Kimberly P, Reviewer
The Deep Down Things: Practices for Growing Hope in Times of Despair by Amber C. Haines and Seth Haines is a memoir about betrayal, despair, grief, healing, and forgiveness. It’s a vulnerable and tender, personal story about leaving church due to abuse, betrayal, and gaslighting and finding God in the middle of all the loss and pain. Of finding a new path to walk as believers, of finding a new home in a different expression of the Body of Christ. Of discovering new ways to be in “the river of grief” and not despair. I really appreciated their vulnerability and honesty. They told their stories and it wasn’t a gossip fest or a badmouthing of church or Christians. They wrote with grace and I found it inspiring to read that more people are having their stories about the church’s dark side published. Not with the intent to destroy any church but to say these things happen. And that there are still things to love about church, still places of healing and restoration. I highly recommend this book!
Thanks to Brazos Press and NetGalley for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
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