Walking with God through Pain and Suffering — by Timothy Keller

The late Tim Keller wrote this theologically rich and deeply compassionate book after enduring his own diagnosis of thyroid cancer along with many other personal hardships. If you are currently in the pit of suffering, I recommend doing what I did and skipping ahead to Part 3: Walking God in the Furnace

Keller writes:

“If you remember with grateful amazement that Jesus was thrown in the ultimate furnace for you, you can begin to sense him in your smaller furnaces with you.”

Throughout the book, he carefully and honestly explores how real hope can still exist even in the middle of devastating circumstances.

Cancer as a Turning Point — by Lawrence LeShan

Written by a psychotherapist who worked with cancer patients for over 40 years. He realized none of his patients were getting better, and therapy made no difference in the survival rates, so he adjusted his approach. He notes “Ever since I learned how to use this approach some twenty years ago, approximately half of my ‘hopeless’, ‘terminal’ patients have gone into long-term remission and are still alive. The lives of many others seemed longer than standard medical predictions would see as likely’. This book focuses on his approach and on how cancer can be the catalyst for mindset shifts that, when combined with medical treatment can mobilize the immune system for healing.

LeShan writes:

“Our actions are usually based in these ‘shoulds’ rather than on the question ‘what would fulfill me—what style of being, relating, creating, would bring me to a life of zest?’ This is the life, this life and the search for it, that mobilizes the immune system against cancer more than anything we know today.”

Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy— by Mark Vroegop

A book about the value of lament—something I believe many people facing cancer deeply need but rarely feel permission to practice. One line that especially stayed with me was:

“Lamentations shows us that God’s sovereignty and His reign are not negated by suffering. God is still in control, even through loss. Lament affirms God’s sovereignty even when dark clouds linger.”

This book helped me realize that grief, sorrow, fear, and honest questions are not the opposite of faith. Sometimes lament is faith.

No Cure for Being Human — by Kate Bowler

Kate Bowler somehow manages to be gritty, vulnerable, intelligent, and genuinely funny all at once. In this memoir, she chronicles her experience navigating a stage IV cancer diagnosis while working as a professor at Duke University and raising a young child. Her writing feels refreshingly unfiltered. At times heartbreaking, at times hysterical.

And—spoiler alert—despite a grim diagnosis, she is still alive and living fully today.

To Be Told — by Dan B. Allender

We all have a story to tell, and according to Allender, our stories are far bigger than we realize. He writes:

“Healing comes when our story is raw, bone-deep and full of hunger for what only Jesus can offer.”

And:

“Our story will gain momentum and depth only to the degree that we honestly embrace both loss and fear.”

This book helped me begin to see cancer not as the entire story of my life, but as one painful and transformative chapter within a much greater story God is still writing.

After Cancer: Thriving with Hope — by Marissa Henley

I especially appreciated these honest reflections from another mother walking through a difficult diagnosis while raising young children. The short devotional format made the book easy to return to in the days after treatment, and the encouragement felt specific, grounded, and real rather than generic or overly polished.

At a time when I often felt isolated in my experience, this book made me feel understood.

The Hardest Peace — by Kara Tippetts

I am going to be honest here: I did not finish this book.

Kara, a mother of four, wrote while facing terminal breast cancer and passed away about ten years ago. I picked up this book searching for an answer to a difficult question: if my own story ever reached its darkest possible ending, would God still be present there too?

For Kara, He clearly was. And in many ways, my question was answered.

But I also found this book emotionally overwhelming. At the time, I simply was not able to sit for long with the possibility that I might not be here to raise my children. It felt too heavy, too close, too real, and eventually I had to put it down.

Still, I think this book could be incredibly meaningful for someone wrestling with those same fears and questions. Kara writes with remarkable honesty, tenderness, and deep trust in God even as her body failed her.