Seasons of Sorrow

As soon as I finished Seasons of Sorrow by Tim Challies I knew that I had to feature it for a Sunday Reading book.

It took me awhile though to process that book and write my thoughts out. A book about grief, that is written in such a raw and honest way, is hard to review.

I loved this book, but I struggled to write out what I thought because Tim Challies did such a good job with this book. I feel like my words will take away from the book instead of adding to it.

Tim Challies is a well-known Christian writer/blogger who has written for years at Challies.com.

In November 2020, his twenty-year-old son died unexpectedly when he collapsed at a school activity. 

Seasons of Sorrow is a book that I think will become a Christian classic. Tim shares from his heart what life was like the first year after his son died. He shares the raw and real grief that his family dealt with. 

He doesn’t just share his grief though. While sharing his grief in an authentic way, he points you to the cross. He reminds us who is in control and he reminds us that God knows the why even when it is hard for us to understand. 

I bought this book shortly after it was published, but it sat in my to-be-read stack for months. I knew that I would have to be in the right mood to read a book about grief. 

I picked it up to read back in March and started reading it a chapter or two a day, which is the way I think it is best to read it. This is not a book to read fast.

This is a book about grief. I found myself crying multiple times when reading Seasons of Sorrow. One or two chapters a day allowed me to meditate on what Tim Challies shared and it gave me time to really think about it. 

He shares this book in the seasons after his son died. It is broken down into Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.

Within each season are chapters dealing with a year of firsts for Tim and his family. He shared the holidays and events, both big and small, that his son was not there for. 

Tim shares about visiting the cemetery. He shares about missing his son, but also about rejoicing that his son is in a better place. 

This is a book about sorrow and grief. It is about losing a son, but the story Tim shares and the practical application that he gives is something that anyone who has lost a loved one will be able to appreciate. 

In fact, I think Tim and his family’s attitude towards sorrow is something that we can all apply to many disappointments. Life is full of sorrow. It is full of death, trials, health problems, and all kinds of grieving. 

Tim’s honesty in sharing his pain is something we all can relate to in some way and his wise words pointing us to Christ are something we can all learn from. 

I used so many book darks in this book to mark things that I wanted to be able to go back to, but two of my favorite quotes from the book are from the chapter, In Green Pastures. Tims says it so well.

“ What comfort there is in the knowledge that the shepherd who tends his sheep alongside still waters, is the very same shepherd who tends them in the valley of darkness.” 

He then goes on to end that chapter by saying “ I’d rather lose everything with my shepherd beside me than gain the whole world alone. Yes, I can bear the loss of my son as long as I know the presence of my shepherd. I can walk this path, I can pass through this dark valley, if only my shepherd guides me, if only he leads the way.” 

Oh, may we say that about all our trials in this life! May we pass through our dark valleys joyfully because we know that HE leads the way. 

This will probably be on my list of favorite books of the year. It will definitely be one of my top Christian books of the year. 

I also plan to buy multiple copies of it to keep on hand to give away. 

If you have lost a loved one or are going through a difficult time in your life, I think you will find encouragement and comfort in the book Seasons of Sorrow. 

This was a five star read for me and I think it will be for many others as well.