Writers Need Resilience

It happens to everyone. Throughout life, we have large and small experiences which stir internal questions which appear to have no answers.

There is no one better than Cecil Murphey to help us understand "The Secrets to Thriving in Tough Times" and his book, MAKING SENSE WHEN LIFE DOESN'T. As a former pastor and long-term writer, Cec has co-authored and written more than 100 books. Through capturing the experiences of others as well as living his own, he has accumulated a lifetime of wisdom and insights. In short doses, this book serves up these nuggets in an ideal format for readers.

I loved the chapter called Becoming Resilient. Cec writes about his mother facing the death of her husband of more than sixty years and the immediate death of her fifty-three-year-old firstborn son. In the face of such tragedy, we wonder how anyone copes. He writes, "Resilience—the ability to accept what can't be changed and not be defeated by it. My mother had become a strong Christian, and certainly her faith enabled her to hold up. And I believe that's when faith becomes most important—when life falls apart. Some go through a painful divorce, or the deception by someone previously considered a friend. Perhaps a request for a loan to buy a house gets turned down. Or a car does on you, or you're involved in a serious accident. That's when faith makes sense. That's when we realize we need help and call on a power beyond our own abilities. If we call out and trust God's loving care through our hard-times, we survive and build resilience….Life doesn't always make sense, and we have no explanations for the disappointments or setbacks, yet we can become tougher and stronger than we were before the confusion invaded our world. If I live through hardships, resilience is the payoff." (page 57-58)

That's a small sample of what you will find in the pages of MAKING SENSE WHEN LIFE DOESN'T. I recommend you get this book. You will be surprised and blessed with what it contains.

Resilience is a valuable characteristic for every writer. If you haven't faced hardships with your writing, then get ready because it will likely come for you. The question is how willyou handle it and make sense of it? Cec Murphey has packed a lot of wisdom and insight into the pages of his new book.