The Deepest Place - by Curt Thompson (Hardcover)

About the Book

A unique and intimate exploration of how suffering, spiritual formation, and interpersonal neurobiology intersect, The Deepest Place by award-winning author Curt Thompson shows us how it's not through the absence of grief but in the presence of it that we discover the joy of vulnerable community and a deeper sense of God's abundant love.

Book Synopsis

In the face of personal and global suffering, is it possible to live with hope rather than despair? Join psychiatrist, speaker, and award-winning author Curt Thompson as he shows us how God transforms our grief into a lasting peace that surpasses all understanding.

Suffering is a defining reality of life. Yet so many of us are so focused on avoiding discomfort that we've never learned how to actually suffer. But what if we could move from anxiety to durable hope?

In The Deepest Place, Thompson invites us to explore how the Apostle Paul's experience of love, secure attachment, and the deeply felt sense of God's abiding presence carried him through the challenges he faced--and how it can help us not just survive, but flourish in the presence of suffering.

Combining scripture with his own professional insight, Thompson helps us discover that:

• Suffering can increase our sense of security rather than our fears
• Hope is something we form in community
• Faith can grow out of anger, cynicism, and doubt
• Perseverance changes our brain and reshapes our imagination
• Listening to our bodies helps us find new hope in loss

As Thompson reminds us, those who have suffered greatly, including the Apostle Paul, are able to see their stories with a new understanding of God's presence and unfailing love. Let The Deepest Place show you how to do the same.

Review Quotes

All of us suffer, in many ways: in relationships, in families, in work, and in health. And, because suffering is painful, we look for ways to end it, or reduce it. Yet God provides another, deeper, and ultimately better way to deal with suffering. Through Curt Thompson's extensive expertise as a psychiatrist, his knowledge of the Scriptures, and his own vulnerable and warm style, he guides us into a path that helps us engage with suffering, deal with it, embrace that which must be embraced, and transform us to a life of faith, love, and hope. Highly recommended. John Townsend, PhD, author of the New York Times bestselling Boundaries series; founder, Townsend Institute and Townsend Leadership Program

Among the books written on the subject of suffering, The Deepest Place is in an elite class by itself. Thompson's exegesis of Scripture, clinical wisdom, and scientific understanding of interpersonal neurobiology gives readers the widest possible lens to see that suffering is not something to merely endure. Instead, we learn the essential ingredients for deeply embedded hope to form in the places where it is least likely to be experienced. We learn how to be hospitable to the pain and suffering. We learn that, although there are no guarantees of escaping suffering, we have been given an ancient path to suffer differently, a tried-and-true path upon which we discover in our bones that love has us. Michael John Cusick, author of Surfing for God, CEO at Restoring the Soul

Both gentle and compelling, this book invites us to redefine our relationship with suffering, offering us the possibility of building lives of courage marked by resilience. Rather than enduring dizzying lives where we grasp for momentary relief through coping strategies, we now have a way to transform suffering into durable hope. Jessica Honegger, founder of Noonday Collection, author of Imperfect Courage

Curt continues to be one of our most winsome and wise teachers and one of our most beloved friends. This stunning new guidebook offers a shimmering light at the end of all our darkest tunnels, gently drawing us through the pain toward something gloriously hopeful together. Katherine and Jay Wolf, authors of Hope Heals, Suffer Strong, and Treasures in the Dark

Curt does it again with The Deepest Place. It's brilliant! He guides us along to discover how our lives, our pain, and our joy were meant to intersect the greatest story ever told. Curt pulls us in close and unveils God's deep love and desire for us to more fully experience a life we hardly ever give ourselves permission to pursue. The stories he tells and advice he gives are like a caring, patient friend, helping us self-discover the enormous ways our suffering becomes our greatest strength. Gabe Lyons, president, THINQ Media

Curt has an incredible gift for weaving together the wisdom and truth of God's Word with the wisdom and truth of science in a profoundly unique way. Reading his words gives you the sense that you're sitting with a friend who cares deeply, has an incredibly deep well of experience to draw from, is willing to be honest and vulnerable about his own journey, and all the while just happens to be a brilliant doctor of the mind, body, and soul. I'm a true fan of Curt's heart and his work, and I have no doubt that this book will be a great source of hope and help in the deepest places for everyone who reads it. Steven Curtis Chapman, GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter

Curt Thompson has done it again! No other voice today more skillfully weaves together expertise in psychology, neurobiology, and biblical theology and threads it all together with pastoral sensitivity and graceful writing. Curt brings all of this to bear on the most perplexing aspect of human existence: suffering. The book does not explain away pain with platitudes but tenderly examines human suffering in the raw, especially via stories from Curt's own medical practice. Most importantly, the book takes readers to that deepest place indeed: the path marked out by Jesus and the apostle Paul, where we are invited to go through suffering with the hope of God's redemption. It is a path we all must travel--and we are blessed to have Curt as a guide. Curtis Chang, author of The Anxiety Opportunity, host of the Good Faith podcast, consulting professor, Duke Divinity School, and senior fellow, Fuller Theological Seminary

Curt Thompson has the prophetic audacity to suggest that the agonies you have suffered in life can be redeemed . . . but the redemption of your pain will require interpersonal relationships. Trauma and pain begin to heal when our stories are witnessed by an empathetic other. In The Deepest Place, Thompson invites you to reimagine how your suffering can be redeemed by engaging your story with others. Adam Young, therapist and host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast

I spent a season of my life living in Southern California and lived through several fires within those years. For months following each fire, we were surrounded by black, scorched earth. But then the rain would come, and the most tender green would emerge. The destructive fire was the very thing that made the soil rich for new growth--a picture of God's redemption in the wake of what we thought was ruined. Weaving his wealth of knowledge and experience as a psychiatrist with his careful study of Scripture, Curt shows us that like a fire, our pain can be the very thing that keeps us tethered to the hope of Christ, where our hearts are transformed and new growth can emerge. I read everything Curt writes with anticipation. God has used his work (including this book) in my personal transformation journey. I'm so excited for you to have The Deepest Place too . . . it's a gift for us all. Nicole Zasowski, marriage and family therapist, author of What If It's Wonderful?

In this powerful book, grounded in sacred Scripture, neuroscience, and clinical experience, Curt Thompson teaches us to become hopeful amid human suffering through forming ever-deepening, secure attachment with the hurting parts of our own selves, with one other, and with Jesus. What could be more important? Kimberly Miller, MTh, LMFT, author, Boundaries for Your Soul: How to Turn Your Overwhelming Thoughts and Feelings into Your Greatest Allies

In The Deepest Place, Curt Thompson once again guides us into goodness with the hallmark gentleness and acumen we've come to trust in his books. Curt so beautifully translates incredibly complex insights about the human body, soul, and relationships into words that welcome us into wholeness. The Deepest Place will pierce your imagination with the possibility that your groans and grief really might be the place you encounter your greatest glory. K. J. Ramsey, trauma therapist, author of The Book of Common Courage and The Lord Is My Courage

In The Deepest Place, Dr. Curt Thompson brilliantly brings to light the intersecting paths of hope, suffering, and human connection. Intricately woven with strands of faith, interpersonal neurobiology, and the transformative power of relationships, this book compels us to journey toward the full realization of our God-given humanity. It's a call to traverse life's arduous terrain with fortitude, strengthened by the profound and nurturing embrace of others, each steeped in the all-encompassing presence of grace. Curt's work is a gift to so many who are yearning to find a deeper understanding of how our Trinitarian faith informs our embodied humanity. Dr. Alison Cook, therapist, author of The Best of You and Boundaries for Your Soul

Our world is suffering in a way I've never experienced as a therapist with kids and families for thirty years. It is debilitating. It is isolating. And it certainly feels hopeless at times. We need strong, thoughtful voices reminding us of the promise of redemption. Of the purpose in sharing our stories. And of the hope that we can experience today through the gospel of Christ. Curt Thompson is one of those voices who points us with biblical wisdom, science-backed evidence, and plentiful grace to that hope. Sissy Goff, director of Child and Adolescent Counseling, Daystar Counseling, author of the bestselling Raising Worry-Free Girls

There's a reality that none of us willingly want to face--that our lives will inevitably include suffering. And while the hardest part is to hold that truth, in The Deepest Place Curt offers us stories and strategies to navigate it all with grace, grit, and the acceptance of grief. On the other side of these words is lasting hope. I pray you read them. You deserve it. Toni Collier, hope coach, speaker, podcast host, and author of Brave Enough to Be Broken

With his formidable intellect and compassionate heart, Curt Thompson draws from Scripture, neurobiology, and inspiring stories to help people advance on the path from suffering to hope and redemption. This is a spiritual formation tour de force for anyone ready to look life's inescapable pain in the eye and make something better of it. A must-read. Ian Morgan Cron, bestselling author of The Story of You