Book Review- Shame Interrupted


As a part of my service to you I occasionally agree to review books that I think might be helpful for some of you to read.  This month’s offering is another great book by Ed Welch, this time he writes on the topic of shame.

Shame is prevalent in our lives today, more than most may recognize.  Whether you have been shamed by someone else, or vice versa, this undeniable heart issue can get the best of anyone.  Dr. Edward T. Welch, in Shame Interrupted:  How God Lifts the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection, has provided a piece of art that takes shame, with all of its ugliness, and brings it out into the light where truth can take root and overcome. 

Dr. Welch challenges his readers to join him on a journey that first exposes shame from the deepest and darkest of shadows, then takes the reader to the Gospel, to the very One who experienced the ultimate shame for our sake, and ends with the revealing hope that our Savior and the Word of God have to offer, cleansing and righteousness. 

What this book does not do, is disregard the real severity of shame and its hindrance on all of creation.  Ed Welch says it best himself,

“Since the common contains both the clean and the unclean, we can simplify it this way.  The universe exists in three categories:  unclean, clean, and holy.  Our goal is to get clean, stay clean, and then set our sights on the holy.  The holy can be intimidating, but only when we enter into that realm can we have true fellowship with God.  Whether we know it or not, that is what we truly want.  We aim to be holy and enjoy the presence of the Holy One.  That is the deepest answer to the problem of shame.” (p. 75)   

This book is a must read for anyone struggling with shame, and most likely that is everyone, at one time or another.  It is a book that I will pass on in the days to come and it is a resource that I will personally call on from time to time. 

No one should have to live in the disgusting depths of shame because Jesus Christ already paid that price and Dr. Ed Welch offers all willing partakers 325 pages of biblically sound insight into a future free from such brokenness.