It wasn’t enough that the intruder murdered Elaine’s husband before her eyes, shot her brother through the

chest and pistol-whipped her after the gun which he put in her face misfired. He then eluded police and contacted her a year later with a promise to find and kill her and her infant daughter. It required several years, the expertise of a highly-skilled psychiatrist, and indomitable courage for her to reconstruct her shattered life and finally emerge into public life as a physician.

When critical illness ended her career, she experienced a transcendent vision, and reported being transported to a place beyond finite time and space, deep into Divine mystery.

She returned with an eternal perspective on good, evil, and forgiveness–a cosmic epiphany vigorously analyzed and debated in the dialogue between a university psychology professor and her own psychotherapist who is also a theologian.

James E. Gebhart, Ph.D. is both a United Methodist minister and a Clinical Psychologist. He has been in independent practice for thirty-five years. He wrote this book to share Elaine’s inspirational and moving story.

This is a rare, welcome, and extremely well-written book that will appeal to many different readers. Rush of a Violent Wind is a non-fiction detective story about a woman running from a murderer who has killed her husband and seems intent upon killing her. It is also a story of that woman’s descent into suicidal ideation, her subsequent hospitalization, and her ultimate recovery. Woven throughout the narrative we discover the psychological, spiritual, and philosophical approaches to healing that a compassionate doctor shared with this courageous woman.

This is a story that speaks to anyone who is losing hope that recovery is possible after suffering grievous harm. Rush of a Violent Wind is so much more than a good read. It is compelling–and for some readers it may prove to be life-altering. As a critical reader and professor of English, I recommend this book for anyone who has given up hope that the jagged shards of a shattered life can be recovered and restored.

Sue V. Lape, Ph, D.
Professor of English

I am a psychologist and an avid reader of books in my field. It is rare that I find a book that is so gripping that I have trouble putting it down. What makes Rush of a Violent Wind so enticing is that it takes one through the psychotherapy process without interruptions of the try this or that technique. This book provides the reader with a private look into the intensive psychotherapist process with a woman whose life has disintegrated. Only by courage, vision, and steadfast guidance is she able to summon the hope and the tenacity to overcome the violence and despair in her past and to ultimately reclaim all that she is capable of.

James Gebhart is not only a master of the art and skill of psychotherapy, but out of his unique training and experience he invites the reader into the profound interface of clinical psychology and theology. This is a remarkable experience and one I have never read about before.

Rahe B. Corlis, Ph.D., ABPP, FAClinP
Clinical Psychologist