Even in our darkness : a story of beauty in a broken life

"Unmasked, unsettling, and unforgettable . . . this will change the landscape of your soul." --Ann Voskamp "Filled with the raw pain, beauty, mystery, and grace that our hearts were meant for." --Matt Chandler Prepare yourself for an unvarnished look at the Christian life, told now for the first time. A powerful memoir of finding beauty and friendship through the pain of loss, tragedy, and brokenness, Even in Our Darkness explores what it means to know God and be known by him. Jack Deere tells the true story of his life growing up near Fort Worth, Texas in the 1950's and the disintegration of his family following his father's suicide. In his mid-twenties, Jack would rise to fame and success as a leading scholar, popular speaker, and bestselling author. But despite being rescued and exalted, Jack would ultimately be crushed in the years that followed. He would lose his son to suicide and his wife to alcoholism. Only then would Jack wrestle with his own addictions, surrender control, and experience true healing. An authentic story of the Christian life, Even in Our Darkness will serve as your own guide in overcoming life's disappointments and learning to hear God speak in unbelievable ways. "Jack Deere speaks on a vulnerable, raw, and honest level about his own narrative and the darkness he has encountered, both around him and within his own soul. He ultimately points the reader to the God who is always there and who always sustains." --Dr. John Townsend "Written beautifully and harrowingly--and so grippingly that you won't want to stop reading--this story is everyone's story." --Eric Metaxas "Raw, gritty, and transparent, Jack's writing rings with effervescent joy and searing pain. I read the last seventy-five pages with my heart in my throat and tears in my eyes. If I could, I'd send every person reading this a copy myself. It's that good. --Lynn Vincent "I am the descendant of drinkers and drifters better at passing on their love for the bottle than family history..." Prepare yourself for an unvarnished, harrowing look at one Christian's life. A powerful memoir of knowing and being known by God through the pain of loss, tragedy, and brokenness—Even in Our Darkness explores what it means to fend off doubt and despair, even in the most painful trials. Jack Deere tells the true story of his life growing up near Fort Worth, Texas in the 1950's and the disintegration of his family following his father's suicide. Despite his difficult childhood and an inclination toward the depression that had crushed his parents, Deere describes how he began to wrestle with Christianity and how "God was...slipping in through the crack of an open wound." In his mid-twenties, Jack rose to fame and success as a leading scholar, popular speaker, and bestselling author. But despite being rescued and exalted, Jack was devastated in the years that followed, losing his troubled son to suicide and his wife to alcoholism. Only then did he fully face his own addictions, surrender control, and experience true healing. An authentic story of the Christian life, Even in Our Darkness is like following an experienced guide through a barren country. Like many believers, Deere has had experiences that nearly destroyed him, and he was shown, by grace, how to overcome life's disappointments and learn to hear God speak in unbelievable ways, despite the darkness that surrounds us. "Unmasked, unsettling, and unforgettable . . . this will change the landscape of your soul." —Ann Voskamp, bestselling author of The Broken Way and One Thousand Gifts. Where is God when the story of your life falls apart? "On the morning of December 31, 2000, I watched a white, cardboard coffin travel up a conveyor belt into the belly of a Boeing 757, along with the other baggage. The body in that coffin had belonged to my son. But he had loaned it out once too often." So begins the memoir of Jack Deere, born in a rural Texas town east of Forth Worth who rises from poverty and obscurity to become a professor, pastor, and bestselling author only to have his future unravel with the tragic loss of his son. A modern-day story of Job, Deere weaves glimpses of God's surprising and unexpected beauty throughout his experiences of suffering and loss. From the suicide of his father and son to the disintegration of his marriage and his wife's battle with alcoholism, Deere writes honestly about his own struggles with sin, selfishness, and pride as he walks through "tragedies no one should endure." Through suffering and pain we learn what it means to have friendship with God - as God makes sense of our broken stories, rewriting them into something beautiful. In Even in Our Darkness, Deere helps readers see the beauty of God through his unconditional love for us as he brings harmony to our broken stories of darkness and destruction. The author shares the story of how his accomplishments as a professor, author, and speaker at a young age brought an addiction to success, pride, and control, and how tragedy forced him to face these demons by surrendering control.