Seth Haines - The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life

Seth has lived these words, fought for them, wrestled lies to the ground, and found love on the other side. May we slow down, pay attention, and wake up to the freedom weve been craving all along.

REBEKAH LYONS, bestselling author, Rhythms of Renewal and You Are Free

The Book of Waking Up truly is for all of us. In these pages you will not find the dreaded alarm clock, no. This is a glorious song of joy, of honesty, and of wonder-working power. These lyrical, honest, humble words will open eyes, unclench fists, and cause souls to rise up in love.

SARAH BESSEY, author, Miracles and Other Reasonable Things and Jesus Feminist

Seth cheerfully challenges the lies all addicts tell themselves to get them through the night, because he knows, by experience, that the truth will set you free. Whether or not you think youre an addict, read this book and learn.

BISHOP GREG BREWER, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida

Sobriety is complicated. No one has it all figured out, but no one writes toward it and speaks toward it and leads me toward it like Seth Haines. His writing is a map and a comfort. A lamp and a warm hearth. I trust his words in my joy and in my pain.

ANNIE F. DOWNS, bestselling author, 100 Days to Brave and Remember God

Combining prose with poetry, theology with biography, and rapture born of rupture, Seth paves the way for those of us who, having grown tired of our wandering and wavering affections, are trying to figure out how to get back home. I cant recommend this book to you highly enough.

SCOTT SAULS, senior pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church; author, Jesus Outside the Lines and Irresistible Faith

Years ago, Gerald Mays theologically rich and psychologically trustworthy Addiction and Grace became my go-to resource. Today its The Book of Waking Up. Im so grateful to Seth for his wisdom and vulnerability in it.

CHUCK DEGROAT, professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality, Western Theological Seminary

Seth Haines does two things in this book: he awakens us to our addictions and reveals himself as a thoughtful, incisive, and skilled writer. This book invites us to dive deep into the condition of our hearts, and offers guidance, hope, and direction for a better way.

MIKE COSPER, author, Recapturing the Wonder and Rhythms of Grace; founder, Harbor Media

This book encourages us not merely to wake up from addiction but also to wake up to adoration of the God who loves us and promises to be faithful to us forever. It is most effective when read slowly, reflecting on the challenges offered and allowing God to transform us.

GLENN R. KREIDER, professor of theological studies, Dallas Theological Seminary; editor-in-chief, Bibliotheca Sacra

ALSO BY SETH HAINES

Coming Clean: A Story of Faith

ZONDERVAN

The Book of Waking Up

Copyright 2020 by Seth Haines

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ISBN 978-0-310-35396-6 (softcover)

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Epub Edition November 2019 9780310353980

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Cover design: Curt Diepenhorst

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I n his book For the Life of the World, Alexander Schmemann writes, The purpose of this book is a humble one. It is to remind its readers that in Christ, lifelife in all its totalitywas returned to man, given again as sacrament and communion, made Eucharist. I could only hope to scratch the surface of the depth found in Schmemanns little book on the sacramental life. Still, this simple emotional apologetic tugs some of the same strings, I hope. So if you take nothing else from this work, may it be Schmemanns reminder that life (all of it) has been returned to you as sacrament and communion. Follow these bread crumbs till the end. Eat those bread crumbs. Drink the wine too.

CONTENTS

S eth Haines has been one of my favorite faith writers since the moment I finished his first book, Coming Clean, so Ive been waiting for this book with great anticipation. Seth sent me an early manuscript as a gift with no request attached. He offered me these pages because he thought they might be good company in the darkness that has marked my life in recent years, and indeed they have been, profoundly so.

Seth is a Southern storyteller, very much at home in that rich communion of poets and writers who dont flinch in the face of darkness, are at home in the natural world, and arent afraid of a little mystery. And hes a really good question-askerfor what its worth, the people I trust most these days are the question people, not the answer people.

The way of being Christian that Seth articulates is one that resonates with me so deeply. Its a rigorous discipleship, one that requires excavation and honesty and the shedding of long-held attachments, but its also a gentle discipleship, rooted in Divine Love and offering the connection that weve been searching for in so many of our addictions and dead ends.

We live in a culture obsessed with both image management and pain management, and this book is a hundred and sixty-three elegant and honest invitations to stop managing and start living. Seth has a way of touching a bruise that youve been trying to protect, but he does it with compassion and empathy, inviting you to tell the truth about your pain because he has gone first, telling the truth about his. What a gift!