What Was Lost
Seeking Refuge in the Psalms
Maureen O'Brien
9781632533432
160 pages
Franciscan Media
Overview
When you hit rock bottom, it isn't rainbows and butterflies that you need—it's the words to express your deepest emotions without being judged for them. In this spiritual memoir, author Maureen O'Brien finds her words in the psalms. As a cancer survivor and heartbroken divorcee, O'Brien made a seemingly simple commitment to praying one psalm a day, no matter how uninspired she felt. And as she returned to the ancient poems day after day, she discovered something surprising: while the psalms did give her comfort, solace, and hope, they also gave her permission to rage, cry, and grieve. And what she found was that her most honest emotions pulled her nearer to God, not further away. This, O'Brien writes, is the gift of the psalms. At once relatable and inspiring, What Was Lost stands like a lighthouse on a stormy night, offering the reader a clear path to be led home.
Author Bio
Maureen O’Brien is the author of the novel b-mother. Her award-winning short stories and poems have been published widely in magazines and anthologies. She lives in Connecticut where she's been teaching creative writing to teenagers for twenty-five years. She holds an M.A in creative writing and a B.A. in philosophy and religion. The contrasts of life—sunrise and dusk, crying and laughter--never cease to amaze her.