Finding God in My Loneliness

Starred review from January 9, 2017
Brownback (A Woman’s Wisdom) illuminates sources of loneliness and encourages Christian readers to lean on God when they feel lonely. “Loneliness is an indicator that something is missing, and that something is found only in Jesus Christ,” she insists. She contends that readers cannot fix their loneliness, a statement that might disappoint those expecting self-help advice; instead, she writes, they can “put it to use” by asking whether they are relying on themselves and seeking their own fulfillment rather than God’s will. Brownback gives relatable examples of the various causes of loneliness, including grief, losing a sense of home, and being different. She uses her own experience of single life, and observations of others’ marriages, to craft a particularly effective pair of chapters on the loneliness of marriage versus the loneliness of being unmarried. Marriage “will never be the loneliness remedy promised in fantasies and fairy tales,” she remarks, while “singleness isn’t second best.” In either case, Brownback maintains, women must learn to trust in God’s plan and goodness. Lessons from the Old and New Testaments are well integrated throughout, and each chapter ends with helpful reflection questions. Brownback’s encouraging book is a sharp, thoroughly readable entreaty to readers looking for grace in loneliness.