Margaret Clarkson's book, Grace Grows Best in Winter, is one of the finest I have ever read on the subject of personal anguish and suffering. Christian author and speaker Joni Erickson Tada was greatly helped by this book when she first became a quadriplegic, and she writes a brief introduction. The author states her goal: "to lead sufferers to discover and to embrace the character of God that they will be enabled to live triumphantly within the hedge of suffering wherein He has placed them, which in His inscrutible soverenty He has not yet seen fit to release them..." and I believe this is precisely what she does. I think any reader will be greatly affected by her work, either introduced to or reminded of the greatness and nearness of Christ to him or her in times of loneliness and personal toture - whatever the experience may be.
Clarkson is a hymn-writer as well as literary author, and her sense of the aesthetic is evident in her own words but also in the quotes throughout the book. She pulls from Christians throughout the ages: Juliana of Norwich, John Bunyan, Samuel Rutherford, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christiana Rosetti, Amy Carmichal, The Nicene Creed, The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Thomas a Kempis, Horatius Bonar, Fanny Crosby and more. The quotes alone are worth the entire book - but one of the best features are her very short chapters. They are pithy and intense but also encouraging - and for one who is suffering and without the mental energy or physical stamina to focus for very long, these chapters are perfectly suited. They are not too short, though, for others who have the time and the privilege to delve deeply into what she is saying. My copy is used and was loaned to me by a friend who has read and reread this book with various-colored highlighters over the years. The corners are dog-eared and there are some tear-stains, some of which are mine more recently added. But again, I would recommend this book to anyone, particularly those who are hurting and hungering to know God's hand and presence in the present experience.
Clarkson writes from a Presbyterian perspective, but I think anyone - whether he or she is of any demonination or religious background, or even without a religious background or articulated faith - will benefit from this book. Even if it only raises more questions about God, they will be questions that every living soul is challenged to ask when one crashes into the cold and frightening world of personal suffering - be it suffering of your own or the suffering of a loved one whom you are caring for.
Don't pass up this opportunity to hear from Clarkson. She will be a helpful guide on the long and often tumultuous path to healing. Her wisdom far surpasses many in the present age of TV talk-show sound bites with self-help tips that have to be interrupted by commercials. Even if you are not a Christian and struggle with or don't agree with what she says, you will appreciate the time and effort she has put into this work. A must read for all who counsel those who are suffering.