We have been asked as a cohort to review Andy Root's book "The Promise of Despair", discuss it as a group, and provide feedback to the editor.

Andrew Root, PhD
Assistant Professor Youth and Family Ministry
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota

The manuscript is approximately 75 pages. It is available from the Files link on the left, restricted to members of our cohort. If you have trouble downloading it please let me know and I'll email you the PDF.

Here's a taste of what you'll find (excerpted from the Introduction):
I was four years old. I can’t say I remember it like it was yesterday or that the memories and timeline are so strong that it haunts me. But I do remember it clearly; it is one of the earliest memories I have. And to be honest, I think it has shaped my life more than I had ever realized. It started with a phone call and ended (though I’m learning the event has never left me) with me throwing my four-year-old boney body on the floor. It was a Sunday morning and we had just returned home from church. As the afternoon sunbeams flooded our little living room, the telephone rang. Picking up the phone my mom said a few words and then hung it up. Turning to me, she said, “Andy, I have to tell you something… Benjamin is dead!” All I could do was collapse. DEAD!
Now reflecting on it, it seems so odd, I was four; we are often told that four-year-olds can’t think abstractly, they can’t comprehend concepts like death. But I understood. Benjamin was four himself; he had been my best friend, my first friend. Just one house sat between his and mine. There are pictures of us hugging, climbing an apple tree, and playing baseball. But Benjamin had gotten cancer and now at the ripe old age of four, FUCKING FOUR, he was dead. Dead! Death! Never coming back! In the ground forever! His little being had been swallowed up and he would never return, and my own four-year-old being was knocked to the floor by the force of such a reality.

If you won't be able to join us on the 13th but are still interested in reviewing and discussing, we'll welcome discussion on our message board.