The Secure Soul - by Cook (Paperback)

About the Book

A secure soul is built from the inside out. This book will guide you through the inner work of restoring your own sense of safety and trust---anchored in God's unshakable love---so that your foundation for all other connections becomes steady and strong.

Book Synopsis

Many of us long for closeness and intimacy in relationships while simultaneously fearing rejection, abandonment, or being overwhelmed. Blending attachment theory with spiritual formation, Dr. Alison Cook helps us restore our soul to a place that can process past traumas or hurts in order to be fully alive and present.

In The Secure Soul, psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Alison Cook offers a compassionate path toward emotional healing, secure connection, and spiritual wholeness through stories of her own journey and personal struggle.

We overthink conversations, people-please, shut down emotionally, or work endlessly to feel worthy of love. Beneath these patterns are often hidden attachment wounds--places within us still longing to feel safe, secure, and connected. These "soul ruptures" are traumas that happened to us long ago and which left unhealed wounds that inhibit our daily life.

We feel the need to build up protective walls, to avoid, which Dr. Alison identifies as your inner "Controller" that is guarding your heart or making you feeling distant from God.

The Secure Soul shows you how to build emotional and spiritual security from the inside out. You will learn how to:

• understand why you feel empty, anxious, or alone--even when life looks full
• identify the patterns keeping you stuck in over-functioning, self-neglect, and self-criticism
• care for the wounded younger parts of yourself with compassion instead of shame
• experience deeper emotional connection in your relationships
• rediscover God as a safe and loving presence rather than a distant authority
• cultivate lasting peace, resilience, and a more secure sense of self

The Secure Soul is for anyone who feels exhausted from holding it all together--and longs to feel truly known, loved, and secure.

You were never meant to do life alone.

Review Quotes

'It is only the rarest of books--the rarest of authors, with the rarest of gifts for both words and wisdom--that make me want to burst into tears from the very first page. THIS is one of those books! I was hooked from the very first sentence and found myself going back and forth between wanting to DEVOUR this book in one sitting...and wanting to savor every syllable as slowly as I could to make sure it never ended. Here's the deal: When Dr. Alison Cook says anything, I pay attention. But THIS book? It is her most profound piece of work yet. I don't know how else to say it... this book is healing something in me that I thought would be forever broken. It's going to change SO many lives. What a gift she has given us... don't walk, RUN to get this beautiful, exceptional book in your hands!'--Mary Marantz, bestselling author of Underestimated and host of The Mary Marantz Show

'Alison Cook's The Secure Soul is a beautifully written invitation to recognize the parts of ourselves longing for connection and to keep returning to Love. Through vulnerable storytelling, practical wisdom, and a deeply tender integration of attachment, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and faith, Alison shares the very work she is learning to live and invites us to do the same.'--Tammy Sollenberger, certified IFS therapist and author of The One Inside

'Written in the impactful tradition of books like Hinds Feet On High Places, Dr. Alison Cook offers us a stunning parable about the sacred work of being human--and the God who meets us in the repair. 'The Secure Soul' is wildly timely and timeless; a tender, thoughtful, and moving read. This is a fabulous book for anyone engaging the holistic healing God invites us toward.'--Aundi Kolber, MA, LPC, Author of Try Softer(R), Strong like Water, and Take What You Need

'After enduring 2 divorces and managing life as a single mom in ministry I know what it feels like to be abandoned and to claw for the control that never promises connection. In The Secure Soul, Alison has so beautifully held our hand through a journey of building a secure foundation within our good bodies that not only withstands painful experiences, but calls us to a deeper level of flourishing--anyway. What a gift!'--Toni Collier, Author of Don't Try This Alone and Host of The Still Coloring Podcast

'Alison Cook was given to the church for such a time as this. Writing as both a trained therapist, a spiritual sage, and a devoted follower of Jesus, Cook engages one of the biggest felt needs of our generation, but with the kind of wisdom and authority our culture has not been able to provide. If you have ever struggled with identity or insecurity, you are going to soak up every word of this book!'--Sharon Hodde Miller, Author of Free of Me, Why Life Is Better When It's Not about You

'In The Secure Soul, Alison Cook reminds you that healing is not about becoming someone altogether new as much as returning to the Love that has been holding you all along. With the tenderness and wisdom we've come to expect of her, Alison helps you recognize the places where you've become disconnected and gently guides you back toward connection, presence, and security in both your deepest self and in God. This is a deeply rich psychological and spiritual companion.'--Chuck DeGroat, PhD, Professor of Pastoral Care and Executive Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Western Theological Seminary; author of When Narcissism Comes to Church and Who You're Becoming

'We are complex beings. We bear the artistry of God's glory. We embody the burden of our foreparents' brokenness. An honest soul doesn't need to be convinced of the need for healing. Too often, the offer of healing becomes a spiritual bypass that avoids the reality of our divided heart. Alison is a generous, compellingly honest, and kind guide who entreats us to listen to our often-ignored or hated inner parts and to taste the kindness of God. This labor of love is beautifully written and a healing companion on your life walk.'--Dan B. Allender, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling Psychology, Founding President The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology

'With The Secure Soul, Alison Cook had not merely offered us a book to be read. Rather, she has prepared for us a feast, one with several courses, each of which could be--but should not be--devoured. No, they must instead be slowly ingested, digested and metabolized. For herein lie words of vulnerability, healing, conviction, and recommissioning upon which the reader must meditate slowly over time so as not to miss the depth and richness of what we have come to know and expect from our author. Read this, and encounter the liminality of the God of love who is with us.'--Curt Thompson, MD, Psychiatrist and Author, Anatomy of the Soul and The Deepest Place