Dr. Mark Mayfield - The Path Out of Loneliness: Finding and Fostering Connection to God, Ourselves, and One Another

Today, our society is facing a new mental health crisis... an epidemic of loneliness. In The Path out of Loneliness, Dr. Mark Mayfield provides readers with a new way to be seen, heard, and loved. A timely must-read!

DR. TIM CLINTON, president of American Association of Christian Counselors, executive director of James Dobson Family Institute

Dr. Mark Mayfields new book, The Path out of Loneliness, skillfully highlights a very urgent problem in our society today: isolation and its physical and mental consequences and what we can do about it. He delves into the many social aspects of loneliness in a way that is both accessible and understandable, providing the reader with the knowledge and resources to combat this far-reaching issue.

DR. CAROLINE LEAF, cognitive neuroscientist, mental health expert, bestselling author

Loneliness is a risk factor for Alzheimers disease and many psychiatric problems. We MUST address this issue head on, or the current mental health pandemic will continue to spiral out of control. Dr. Mark Mayfields new book, The Path out of Loneliness, does this in an elegant way. I highly recommend it.

DANIEL G. AMEN, MD, founder of Amen Clinics, author of Your Brain Is Always Listening

For the price of this book, you get a years worth of counseling... at your own pace. From a smart and compassionate therapist!

JOHN ELDREDGE, New York Times bestselling author, counselor

We were made for community. Yet our brokenness often makes us hide from others and keeps us from loving people well. As a counselor, as a professor, and as one who has served as a pastor, Mayfield integrates principles and practices from faith and science to help us flourish in fellowship with one another. This book will guide you toward wholeness as you and I learn to give and receive love.

REV. DR. GLENN PACKIAM, associate senior pastor at New Life Church, author of Blessed Broken Given

Weve got to start seeing deep connection as a requirement, not an accessory in our lives. Dr. Mayfield has written this incredible, holistic guide to help you fight loneliness in your own life and see how God hardwired you for relationships.

JENNIE ALLEN, New York Times bestselling author of Get Out ofYour Head, founder and visionary of IF:Gathering

Before anyone ever heard of the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness was already a plague among us, but it was greatly exacerbated by the deadly virus separating us into our socially isolated cocoons. Whatever the cause, loneliness can drag us down into a debilitating spiral of despair, hopelessness, sickness, insanity, even death. Theres a reason prisons reserve solitary confinement as one of their harshest punishments.

Loneliness has its genesis in Genesis, which makes clear it is not what God intended for us. We were lovingly created for relationship and connection with him and with others. Within these pages, walk step-by step with Mark as he gently guides you out of the darkness, offering practical tools such as honesty, vulnerability, reflection, and awareness, and let the insights gleaned lead you to embrace hope as you discover your identity, meaning, and purpose on the other side of loneliness.

DR. WESS STAFFORD, president emeritus of Compassion International, author of Too Small to Ignore and Just a Minute

Power-packed with his own vulnerable stories and strengthened through living examples curated from thousands of counseling clients, Dr. Mayfield guides us through todays pressing problems, recovers original design, and gently and courageously guides us on a path toward hope.

MORGAN SNYDER, author of Becoming a King, vice president of Wild at Heart, founder of BecomeGoodSoil.com

Ive seen Mark Mayfield at work as a counselor, and now I know him as a friend. Ive witnessed firsthand his passion for soul health, and Ive watched him nurture a city toward life. The Path out of Loneliness is a clear call for us to get back to what we were made for connection. This is a lifesaving message. Thank you, Mark, for being a voice.

JON EGAN, music artist, worship pastor at New Life Church

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

For more information, visit NavPress.com.

The Path out of Loneliness: Finding and Fostering Connection to God, Ourselves, and One Another

Copyright 2021 by Mark Mayfield. All rights reserved.

A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers.

NavPress and the NavPress logo are registered trademarks of NavPress, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO. Tyndale is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

The Team: David Zimmerman, Acquisitions Editor; Elizabeth Schroll, Copy Editor; Olivia Eldredge, Operations Manager; Ron Kaufmann, Designer

Cover illustration of landscape copyright Arelix/Depositphotos. All rights reserved.

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Message, copyright 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Tyndale House Publishers at , or call 1-855-277-9400.

ISBN 978-1-64158-339-8

ISBN 978-1-64158-341-1 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-64158-342-8 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-64158-340-4 (Apple)

Build: 2021-08-27 11:16:52 EPUB 3.0

To my wife and best friend, Sarah. Thank you for partnering with me on this wild adventure called life. I love you!

I N 2018, the United Kingdom appointed its first Minister for Loneliness. By then we had begun to recognize that for all of our modern advances, we were and are still as alienated as Cain was from Abel. Often, by the time a public health concern reaches the halls of government, one knows that it has long since perniciously been active and debilitating in the community. And so, as I write this at the commencement of 2021, in the case of loneliness, despite our scientific specialization, communication, and affluence, we find ourselves overwhelmed not by one but two pandemics one viral and the other simply human.