Lament for a Son, 40th Anniversary Edition

By Nicholas Wolterstorff

Those who are worth loving are worth grieving over.

Nicholas Wolterstorff has written dozens of landmark books in philosophy, theology, education, and the arts. Lament for a Son is different. Here he writes not as a scholar but as a father grieving the loss of his son.

On one level, Lament for a Son is a spare narrative of a heartbreaking year. It starts with the numbing telephone call that no parent ever wants to receive, moves through the funeral and its aftermath, and ends with a graveside visit one year later. But the book is more than a narrative. With utter candor, Wolterstorff explores the intersection of grief and faith. Refusing the comfort of easy answers, he acknowledges, "I have no explanation. . . . I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and resurrecter of Jesus Christ. I also believe that my son's life was cut off in its prime. I cannot fit these pieces together."

Throughout the book, Wolterstorff affirms the need to mourn, asserting that we have an obligation to the deceased--and also to God--to acknowledge death's awfulness. Both emotionally honest and theologically grounded, Lament for a Son illuminates a profound truth: those who are worth loving are worth grieving over.

In this fortieth-anniversary edition of the book, Wolterstorff provides a new afterword in which he reflects on the book's unexpectedly wide reach. Lament for a Son continues to speak to readers today because it never pretends grief can be solved--only carried, and somehow, redeemed.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0802886612
• ISBN13: 9780802886613
• Release Date: May 2027
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Length: 117 Pages