BOOK REVIEW
More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us
Author: Steve Leder
It isn’t often you would hear a book about grief described as a “page turner” but that was exactly my experience as I read Rabbi Steve Leder’s most recent release, “More Beautiful Than Before”. I found myself hanging onto every word and stopping repeatedly to jot down jewel after jewel as Rabbi Leder placed pain in the right perspective, as an invitation to walk forward with pockets full. He shares, “Do not come out of hell empty handed” and it created space for me to reflect on all the gifts that have taken up residence in my pockets as we have journeyed through these pandemic years. I found the fog lifting from my eyes, seated at the feet of this Rabbi, as he reminded the reader that, “Nothing was worth the suffering, but neither was the suffering worthless”.
Never has one book spoken so poignantly and practically to my personal experience of grief, but more so to my ministry with others as we journey with them through all the twists and turns of life. If you have ever walked with someone through their darkest night or if you are in the thick of that night yourself, this book is for you. I found “More Beautiful Than Before” to be the single most impactful resource on pastoral care for my ministry, but also for myself as the Lord used it to shift my perspective and be reminded that even through the darkest night, the sun will always rise.
