📖 COMING IN OCTOBER — A BOOK FOR SOMEONE WHO MAY BE HURTING
You’re Hurting. I Understand. But Suicide Is Not the Answer
Hope, Healing, and the God Who Never Stopped Loving You.
There are some books you decide to write.
And then there are books that seem to demand to be written.
This is one of them.
Today, I want to give our readers the first glimpse of a new book I am currently writing and preparing for a hoped-for October 2026 release.
Its title is:
YOU’RE HURTING. I UNDERSTAND. BUT SUICIDE IS NOT THE ANSWER
Hope, Healing, and the God Who Never Stopped Loving You.
This will not be a book that lectures hurting people.
It will not shame them.
It will not tell someone experiencing severe emotional or psychological pain that they simply need to “pray harder.”
And it certainly will not pretend that a Bible verse thrown casually at someone makes deep suffering disappear.
Instead, I want to sit down beside the hurting person.
Not above them.
Not across the room from them.
Beside them.
And say:
“I may not completely understand everything you're experiencing. But I believe your pain is real. I believe your life still has value. And I don't believe you should have to face this alone.”
WHY THIS BOOK?
Because somewhere tonight, somebody is hurting.
Maybe nobody knows.
They went to work.
Answered the telephone.
Posted something on social media.
Smiled at church.
Told their family:
“I'm fine.”
But they're not fine.
And sometimes the most dangerous suffering is the suffering nobody else can see.
This book will talk about that.
We'll talk about hopelessness.
Invisible wounds.
Trauma.
Grief.
Depression and other mental-health struggles.
Shame.
Isolation.
The influence of culture and social media.
Asking for help.
Professional mental-health treatment.
Pastoral care.
Recognizing when someone we love may be in trouble.
Making it through a suicidal crisis.
And yes—
we're going to talk about Jesus Christ.
But we're going to do it carefully.
Compassionately.
Responsibly.
Because faith and professional care do not have to be enemies.
Prayer and treatment can occupy the same room.
So can Scripture and counseling.
THERE IS SOMETHING I WANT THE READER TO KNOW
Very early in the book, I say:
“I'm glad you're here.”
I mean that.
If you're hurting, I'm glad you're still here.
If you're exhausted from fighting battles nobody knows about, I'm glad you're still here.
If you've wondered whether anybody would notice if you disappeared—
I'm glad you're still here.
And if you've ever thought:
“I don't know whether I can keep doing this,”
I want to ask you for something.
Don't try to solve the rest of your life tonight.
Stay.
Give tomorrow a chance to arrive.
Give somebody an opportunity to listen.
Give professional help an opportunity to help.
Give healing time to begin.
And give God room to work in ways you may not yet be able to see.
THIS BOOK ISN'T ONLY FOR THE PERSON IN CRISIS
It is also being written for the mother who knows something is wrong with her child but doesn't know what to say.
The husband watching his wife disappear emotionally.
The friend who received a frightening text message.
The pastor who hears:
“Pastor, I don't want to live anymore.”
The veteran carrying something home from the battlefield that nobody else can see.
The family trying to understand what happened after losing someone to suicide.
And the ordinary person who simply wants to know:
“What do I do if someone I love tells me they want to die?”
We are going to have that conversation.
NOT BABIED. JUST NOT ALONE.
That has become one of the quiet principles guiding this book.
I don't want to manipulate the reader.
I don't want to frighten them into staying alive.
And I don't want to make decisions for them.
I want to walk beside them long enough for them to begin seeing something pain may have temporarily hidden:
There may still be another way.
Sometimes hope begins with a dramatic breakthrough.
But sometimes hope begins with two words:
NOT TODAY.
Sometimes it begins with:
“I need help.”
Sometimes:
“Can you stay with me?”
Sometimes:
“I made the appointment.”
And sometimes hope is simply discovering that the sun came up—
and you're still here to see it.
SOMEONE ELSE'S ENDING DOES NOT HAVE TO BECOME YOURS
One of the themes we'll explore is the influence other people's lives—and deaths—can have upon us.
But we'll also ask another question.
Instead of only asking:
“Who died?”
What if we also asked:
“WHO STAYED?”
Who survived the night?
Who made the telephone call?
Who entered treatment?
Who told somebody the truth?
Who accepted the extended hand?
Who discovered years later that the moment they once believed was the end of their story—
wasn't?
Those stories matter too.
Despair can influence people.
But so can hope.
THE ROAD TO OCTOBER BEGINS TODAY
Over the coming weeks, I plan to share occasional glimpses into this project.
A thought from a chapter.
A quotation.
A theme.
Perhaps a behind-the-scenes look at why certain sections were written.
And eventually, we'll reveal more about the finished book and its release.
I don't want to give everything away today.
We're just opening the door.
My prayer is that when You’re Hurting. I Understand. But Suicide Is Not the Answer is finally released, it won't simply become another book sitting on somebody's shelf.
I pray that one day it will find its way into the hands of exactly the person who needs it.
Maybe a teenager.
A veteran.
A grieving parent.
A pastor.
A frightened spouse.
A person sitting alone at two o'clock in the morning wondering whether another sunrise is worth waiting for.
And perhaps somewhere between those pages, they will discover:
Someone understands.
Help exists.
Healing is possible.
God has not abandoned me.
My story isn't finished.
And perhaps they will make one more decision:
I'M STILL HERE.
That would make every hour spent writing this book worthwhile.
Targeted release: October 2026.
More information will be coming soon.
Until then, please pray for me as I continue writing, researching, reviewing and preparing this project.
And please pray especially for the person who may someday hold this book in their hands.
We don't know their name yet.
God does.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS IN CRISIS
If you are in the United States or its territories and are struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate life-threatening danger, contact emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department.
Outside the United States, contact the appropriate crisis or emergency services available where you live.
You do not have to solve the rest of your life tonight. You only need to stay safe right now.
HELP US HELP THEM—ONE SOUL AT A TIME.
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International
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We are your eyes, ears, mouths, and feet in Asia.
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