Sarah Clarkson’s This Beautiful Truth is a wonderfully worded book acting as part memoir and part deep dive into the theology of grief and all the feelings and hardships that come with it. Clarkson provides a very open and honest conversation regarding grief and hardship and how through creativity and art she has come to understand the beauty of God’s goodness.
Clarkson, an author and graduate of theological studies at Oxford University, holds plenty of knowledge and understanding of the theology of grief, but what makes her book special is her personal experience with grief that she brings to the reader.
Clarkson outlines in the very first chapters her life-long struggle with Obsesive-Compulsive Disorder. With her specific diagnosis, she experienced vivid visions of violence and assault. This caused her to live much of her teens and 20s in extreme anguish and solitude, not straying far from her own home. Paired with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of her mother-in-law and her grandmother later on in her life, Clarkson proves that she deeply understands the brokenness of the world. Yet, despite this, she provides a beautiful understanding of the goodness and beauty of the Gospel.
Clarkson’s message is simple, yet profound. The beauty of the Gospel is reflected in the beauty that readers can see in the world. Through the beauty we experience in our day to day lives we can catch a glimpse of the beauty of God and His goodness. Through her own experience and stories, Clarkson outlines how she understands and experiences beauty in the world.
Whether it is reading J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or the poetry of Madeleine L’Engle she argues that even within this broken world, there is always beauty to be found. And that beauty is most often found in art. For some, beauty might be experienced through music, art or film. For others it is in a good story or having a good meal shared with friends. Clarkson makes it clear that wherever beauty can be found in the world we also experience the beauty of the Gospel.
In the vein of many theologians before her, Clarkson is making the argument that there is no divide between the sacred world and the secular world. When there is a divide between the two is when the brokenness of the world can become too much and turn into grief and hurt. With her simple and sincere writing style Clarkson masterfully simplifies this idea for her readers.
As blogger Thomas Creedy wrote in his review of her book “This is a special book because it is wonderfully specific and yet brilliantly universal […] She writes to universal concerns, and she speaks of deeply true universal truths, but woven into this is the author’s own story, with its pain and longing, heartache and loss, joy and discovery, and a relentless clinging to God.”
This book is a refreshing and beautifully written read for those looking to remember the beauty of the Gospel. Clarkson welcomes her readers in and reminds them that despite their brokenness they are still seen as a beautiful part of God’s creation.
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