Book Presentation

Darkness Is My Only Companion

Kathryn Greene-McCreight

• Episcopalian Priest
• Diagnosed with bipolar disorder
• Began writing the book in the midst of a manic episode so she could document her theological reflections on mental illness.

Book Summary

Part 1: Facing Mental Illness

• Kathryn shares an in depth and personal description of bipolar disorder.
• This part of the book has many personal stories of Kathryn's experience with both mania and depression.

"I have a chronic disease, a brain disorder that used to be called manic depression and is now called, supposedly less offensively, bipolar disorder."

Part 2: Faith and Mental Illness

• Goes into misconceptions about God, prayer, the soul, and mental illness.
• Talks about the "Hiddenness of God"
• Addresses disagreements between theologians and psychotherapists.

"Mental illness can potentially damage the soul, since it preys on the brain and the mind, but it cannot destroy the soul."

"Why do we suffer? I think we suffer because of evil, the deprivation of good, but even still God can work his grace out of our suffering."

"It is appropriate to hope for healing, but it is not theologically appropriate to hope for a moment that we can manipulate the power of God in our prayers."

Part 3: Living with Mental Illness

• How you can help someone who is facing mental illness.
• Descriptions of resources and therapies available to people with a mental illness.

"I think people in general don't know how to treat those whose mental health is not as good as their own."

"God is not a tool to be used to meet our needs. God does, however, give us tools. Like psychotherapists, psychiatrists, medications, and hospitals, not to mention surfboards, sailboats, and helicopters."

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder in the Book

• A major part of the book is dedicated to describing bipolar disorder.
• The personal stories helps the reader better understand what a person experiences in times of depression and mania.

Research Based Methods

Research Based Mehtods

• Kathryn makes it very clear that a person with Bipolar Disorder should meet with a psychotherapist (whether the person is a Christian or not).
• Because her book has such a potential to attract readers with Bipolar Disorder, she dedicates an appendix to informing people of many resources available to them.

Cultural Bias

Cultural Bias

• The whole book is intended to address a major bias that exists in Christian culture.
• Many people in the church have major misconceptions about mental illness.
• Kathryn's book brings awareness of the reality of mental illness to people who would much rather just ignore it.

Personal Journey

Personal Journey

• This was the same disorder I did my Snapshot on.
• I chose this topic to have a better understanding of what a member of my family experienced with Bipolar Disorder.
• The stories in this book helped me develop this understanding more than just the DSM-5.