Douglas R. Groothuis

How do you continue to find God as dementia pulls your loved one into the darkness?Nothing is simple for a person suffering from dementia, and for those they love. When ordinary tasks of communication, such as using a phone, become complex, then difficult, and then impossible, isolation becomes inevitable. Helping becomes excruciating.In these pages philosopher Douglas Groothuis offers a window into his experience of caring for his wife as a rare form of dementia ravages her once-brilliant mind and eliminates her once-stellar verbal acuity. Mixing personal narrative with spiritual insight, he captures moments of lament as well as philosophical and theological reflection. Brief interludes provide poignant pictures of life inside the Groothuis household, and we meet a parade of caregivers, including a very skilled companion dog. Losses for both Doug and Becky come daily, and his questions for God multiply as he navigates the descending darkness. Here is a frank exploration of how one continues to find God in the twilight.… (more)

A 2001 Christianity Today Award of Merit winner
The concept of truth as absolute, objective and universal has undergone serious deterioration in recent years. No longer is it a goal for all to pursue. Rather postmodernism sees truth as inseparable from culture, psychology, race and gender. Ultimately, truth is what we make it to be.

What factors have accelarated this decay of truth? Why are people willing to embrace such a devalued concept? How does this new view compare and contrast with a Christian understanding?

While postmodernism contains some truthful insights (despite its attempt to dethrone truth), Douglas Groothuis sees its basic tenets as intellectually flawed and hostile to Christian views. In this spirited presentation of a solid, biblical and logical perspective, Groothuis unveils how truth has come under attack and how it can be defended in the vital areas of theology, apologetics, ethics and the arts.… (more)

This book was difficult. It is a memoir of his experience walking his wife through primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia. His wife, who was once a member of Mensa and is a published author, who used to edit his books, now struggles to find words for everyday things like shorts, and struggles to use simple things, like basic telephones. It is a memoir of pain and difficulty, as disjointed as the tumultuous life it now describes, yet following Job well: why does this happen, nevertheless may the Lord be glorified! I will definitely be rereading this, but it will take me several months or years before I can brave the waters again.… (more)