Winner of a third-place award in the grief and bereavement category from the Catholic Media Association.

A friend’s child dies; a parent gets a cancer diagnosis; your spouse loses their job. Sometimes life and God’s plan don’t make sense and we end up feeling hurt and angry.

In Seriously, God?, Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran explore the denial, doubt, and betrayal we experience when we face hardship, pain, and grief, and they encourage us to lean into our feelings and to take each circumstance as a chance to learn more about God.

Drawing on personal anecdotes and stories from their parish, White and Corcoran–authors of the bestselling and award-winning book, Rebuilt–share important lessons, including:

Even the heroes of the Bible–such as Abraham, Moses, David, and the apostles–experienced situations that caused them to misunderstand God. There is joy in knowing we will forever be getting to know God. Even though life often doesn’t make sense, we shouldn’t assume God doesn’t make sense.

For anyone who has battled suffering, walked away from faith under the pressure of crushing doubt, never felt safe giving faith a chance, or cared about someone who struggles with these realities, this book treats the problems of suffering and evil not as an argument to be overcome but as an invitation to a deeper faith.

Each chapter relies on biblical stories that provide a wonderful introduction to scripture to those who are not familiar with the Bible and a fresh perspective to those who are. Each chapter also includes questions for self-reflection and discussion. A free parish small-group guide and videos from the authors are available online.

This is a perfect book to give as a gift to friends or family members who are grieving, those struggling with doubts about their faith, or those who are new to faith.