We think that Christianity is about being «happy, happy, happy all the
time,» seeing God miraculously answer all our
prayers, and have all of our Christian friends surround us with financial and
emotional support every
time the least little thing goes wrong.
Emotional Stress: This one can obviously have many causes, but can often be addressed by working through tough relationships, making
time for
prayer and meditation, keeping a gratitude journal to focus on the positive, and making
time to unwind.
We cry from good songs, beautiful
prayers, absurd stories and jokes... we're just an
emotional bunch, OK??? For spending
time with the fam, I'm not about the full «beat» (is that what the kids say nowadays??)
SUGGESTED READING Andrew Davidson's Favorite Novels: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy Perfume, Patrick Süskind Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins The Bone People, Keri Hulme Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro Frankenstein, Mary Shelley A
Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving Suggestions for Further Reading The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso) by Dante Alighieri, translation by John Ciardi Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia, edited by John M. Jeep The Mystics of Engelthal: Writings from a Medieval Monastery by Leonard P. Hindsley Henry Suso: The Exemplar, with Two German Sermons, translated, edited, and introduced by Frank Tobin Light, Life and Love: Selections from the German Mystics of the Middle Ages, edited by W. R. Inge Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D. Rising from the Flames: The Experience of the Severely Burned by Albert Howard Carter III, Ph.D. and Jane Arbuckle Petro, M.D. Severe Burns: A Family Guide to Medical and
Emotional Recovery by Andrew M. Munster, M.D., and the Staff of the Baltimore Regional Burn Center Holy Terrors: Gargoyles on Medieval Buildings by Janetta Rebold Benton The Holy Bible, King James Version, 1611 Also of Interest The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón The
Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield The Magus, John Fowles Possession, A. S. Byatt Interview With the Vampire, Anne Rice The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason The Dante Club, Matthew Pearl