Forgiving God

A young mother's life is forever changed and her faith in God is broken when her son in diagnosed with several birth defects. Restore and grow your faith as you read about Hilary Yancey's personal journey back to God.

Hilary Yancey thought she had unshakable faith until it was truly tested. Married to her college sweetheart and jubilantly expecting their first child, when a routine ultrasound revealed her baby's significant facial cleft, a missing eye, and one especially tiny ear, Hilary asked God for a miracle and believed her son would be healed.

But he wasn't. And the weeks the couple spent beside their baby's hospital bed became a spiritual exile for the young mother, where she contemplated faith, nearly lost all of it she had, wrestled with anger with God, and was reintroduced to Him by her beautiful baby boy, Jackson.

For readers of spiritual narrative, new parents in the midst of the challenge, anyone who has experienced faith-shattering circumstances, or those who find themselves lost in the wilderness of shaken belief, this book will provoke honest self-reflection and encouragement through a mother's vulnerable, raw account of her journey back to God.

“"With poetry and insight, authenticity and vulnerability, Hilary explores the hidden work of making space. Space for the stories we never thought would be ours. Space for the people who become ours to love. Space for the Grace of God, that so often lies hidden under it all."-- Addie Zimmerman, author of When We Were on Fire and Night Driving”

"Hilary Yancey's writing is fraught with humanity and divinity, both. Her words are full of the... beautiful infusion of wisdom that happens when life does what it does."--Amber C. Haines, author of Wild in the Hollow
"Hilary's work is true in the best Christian sense: she brings order out of chaos, finds beauty out of brokenness, participates in redemption out of sorrow, and practices resurrection in the very places of death. Her writing has an inexplicable loveliness to each word, like we're all homesick for what she glimpsed."--Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist and Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith
"With poetry and insight, authenticity and vulnerability, Hilary explores the hidden work of making space. Space for the stories we never thought would be ours. Space for the people who become ours to love. Space for the Grace of God, that so often lies hidden under it all."--Addie Zimmerman, author of When We Were on Fire and Night Driving
Hilary is one of my favorite writers. Period. Because she's not afraid of what her writing will uncover. She's not afraid to look doubt and question marks and God in the eye. And then she's not afraid to tell us exactly what she found. Open this book and let her show you. I promise it will change you too.--Lisa-Jo Baker, author of Never Unfriended and Surprised by Motherhood
I love learning from Hilary as I read how she models, day in and out, the life of a parent who sees like Jesus. There's not a thing she writes that doesn't have a turn of phrase that catches in my throat, such a gifted writer she is. The melding of these two things-her way with words and her way as a parent-means this book is a much-needed gift to every one of us.--Tsh Oxenreider, author of At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe

Writer Hilary Yancey examines the significance within ordinary aspects of everyday life. She earnestly and vividly explores the challenges and blessings of womanhood, marriage, and motherhood, and how these things as well as faith are impacted by the disability of a child. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy at Baylor University. Hilary, her husband Preston, and her young son Jack live in Waco, TX. Her blog can be read at

A young mother's life is forever changed and her faith in God is broken when her son in diagnosed with several birth defects. Restore and grow your faith as you read about Hilary Yancey's personal journey back to God. Hilary Yancey thought she had unshakable faith until it was truly tested. Married to her college sweetheart and jubilantly expecting their first child, when a routine ultrasound revealed her baby's significant facial cleft, a missing eye, and one especially tiny ear, Hilary asked God for a miracle and believed her son would be healed.But he wasn't. And the weeks the couple spent beside their baby's hospital bed became a spiritual exile for the young mother, where she contemplated faith, nearly lost all of it she had, wrestled with anger with God, and was reintroduced to Him by her beautiful baby boy, Jackson.For readers of spiritual narrative, new parents in the midst of the challenge, anyone who has experienced faith-shattering circumstances, or those who find themselves lost in the wilderness of shaken belief, this book will provoke honest self-reflection and encouragement through a mother's vulnerable, raw account of her journey back to God.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.