Helping others going through life crisis

The Book: Helping Those Who Hurt – A handbook For Caring and Crisis
By Barbara M. Roberts
Published by NavPress

Life’s struggles affect everyone at some time. Whether you’re a friend of someone who hurts, a layperson in ministry, or a professional counselor, you need guidance and practical advice during the pain of a crisis. Get the wisdom and direction you’re looking for in Helping Those Who Hurt.
Barbara Roberts offers lists, step-by-step directions, Scripture, and dozens of tips from her own experience as the director of a large Caring Ministry department. Written in a practical, conversational manner, this book lends support for the crises you encounter.

The Author: Who is Barbara Roberts?
Born and raised in Denver CO. (one of not too many natives)
Married to Ken (also a native) for 47 years
Mother of 3 – 2 sons and one daughter;
Mother-in-law to 3 – 2 daughters-in-law and 1 son-in-law
Grandmother to 9 – all located in the Denver area.
Involved in Pastoral Care Ministry for 23 years.Degree in Pastoral Care with emphasis on Family Counseling – Regis University

Things I love:
I love my family
I love what I do – walking alongside those in crisis energizes me.
I love writing, studying and learning, preparing to teach and actually teaching and speaking.
I love time to be quiet, ponder, pray, think before the Lord.
I love to read and love all kinds of musicI enjoy movies, exercising, walking, golf.

Personal life experiences – personal bouts with cancer for both myself and my husband.
I have walked through the valley of the shadow of grief and loss – as Nouwen and others describe – a wounded healer.

My Thoughts About the Book
This is a gem! We are pastors of a new church and I can see this book being very useful in the future. Already, I can understand more my own mother with some crisis included in the book.
The many subjects are illness and hospital visitation, crisis, aging, death, grief, troubled marriages and divorce, addiction, domestic violence, rape and forgiveness. You will also find a wonderful section about resources you can recommend or use yourself for various crisis situations.

This little book is full of very interesting information going to what to do and what not to do, how a patient reacts to sickness/death, how to recognize and respond to abuse, when to share scriptures, when to just listen, when to speak up… It is a resource that I think anyone who works with people should have.

This book is so small that it can easily be carried around in your purse (well okay it depends of the size of the purse) or leave in your car for easy access when you need it. It can be reviewed anytime the necessity arises for any type of issues. The author is a seasoned pastoral care minister and will guide you, via this book, through the steps to take when dealing with a specific crisis.

As I mentioned earlier, I came to the point to understand my own mother a little bit more. She went through a lot during her life and reading about the crisis’ she went through, including divorce, helped me to see her with a new perspective and understand why she is building walls around her. I’m not saying this is the best action to do when you get hurt but I understand her need to feel protected. I wished I had had this little book many years ago.

This handbook is very helpful and I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in helping a family member or a friend that goes through a tough time. As for us, I’m keeping it on our bookshelf and I plan to go dig in it every now and then when I need to.

Helping Those Who Hurt is available at Navpress as well as amazon.ca and indigo.ca.