The View from Rock Bottom

“Many of us have a giant hole in our gospel, which is exposed when confronted with suffering. When our beliefs are too tidy, our answers too easy, and our message cliché, our faith will be shallow, fragile, and uncompelling. That is why this book matters so much. With surprising hope, Stephanie looks straight at her pain and God’s mystery, reminding us that the good news of Jesus Christ is even better than we thought.”
—Sharon Hodde Miller, Author of Free of Me

“The View from Rock Bottom is such important work—challenging and convicting in a gentle and restorative way.”
—Sarah Mae, author of The Complicated Heart

“Stephanie has given us such a gift with her story: a full, true, honest, and compelling glimpse of God within our suffering. This book is both hopeful and holy; her words touch our collective grief and name it as precious to God.”
—Sarah Bessey, author of Jesus Feminist and Miracles and Other Reasonable Things

“Immerse yourself in Stephanie’s profound wisdom. Yes, this book is about pain. Deep, real, still-ongoing pain. And that’s why we all need it. Stephanie is real, challenging, and compassionate. Just what you need right now.”
—Carlos A. Rodríguez, author of Simply Sonship and Drop the Stones

“This book is for anyone whose cheeks have been scorched by the flames of suffering. In Stephanie’s pain we find ourselves paradoxically at home, as near to the heart of God as we have ever been. It’s true that to be human is to hurt. But that is nowhere near the end of the story.”
—Shannan Martin, author of The Ministry of Ordinary Places and Falling Free

“The church sorely needs books that are truthful about the reality of suffering, borne out of walking through pain, and this one’s a gem. Warm and clear in style, this book will be a great help and hope for all who struggle and feel like they’ve missed the promises of God.”
—Tanya Marlow, disability activist and author of Those Who Wait

“This is a book soaked in Scripture. Whatever expectations you have about a Christian book on suffering—forget them. The View from Rock Bottom is honest, challenging, and an important corrective to popular theology on suffering.”
—Kaitlyn Schiess, author and theologian

“There’s no better teacher on the complexities of pain than Stephanie Tait. She goes beyond instruction and invites the reader to reimagine the purpose of suffering in a way that draws you into the very presence of God. With scriptural clarity and pastoral care, Stephanie gives us the greatest gift in the midst of our own suffering—the hope of a present, loving God.”
—Nish Weiseth, author of Speak: How Your Story Can Change the World

“Stephanie does the hard work of dismantling the prosperity gospels we have created to tackle the problem of pain and suffering. This is a vital book for Christians who want to move beyond a simplified, transactional approach to God. It quite simply is revolutionary in asking us to sit in the suffering of our world, and to sit in it with God. It is a work of deconstruction that builds us towards a theology that is good news for everyone.”
—D.L. Mayfield, author of Assimilate or Go Home

“Stephanie invites us to view suffering not as a liability, but as a doorway into a deeper experience of God. With a deep sense of compassion for the human condition, she helps us recognize that though God never celebrates our pain, he will tenderly meet us in it.”
—Aundi Kolber, trauma therapist and author of Try Softer

“Stephanie is a gifted theologian, guiding the reader into the holy tension of heartache and pain. Without so much as realizing it, the reader is enveloped into a new way of looking at this ‘Gethsemane ground.’”
—Cara Meredith, author of The Color of Life

“Avoiding trite axioms, Stephanie walks with readers through the most difficult aspects of life—illness, loss, grief, confusion—and helps them find Jesus. She reminds us that suffering isn’t a sign of God’s absence, but is often the place where we experience Emmanuel, God with us.”
—Nate Pyle, author of More Than You Can Handle and Man Enough

“Stephanie’s clarity about the place of suffering in her life enlightened and encouraged me. In a culture that wants every struggle to end in victory and tidy life lessons, she stands as a testament to the importance of pain and the compassionate God who is present with us in all of it.”
—Melissa Maimone, author of The Radiant Midnight

“Stephanie constructs a theological mosaic on suffering that invites deep, honest reflection on the stories that shape us. Unlike false prophets who offer empty promises of escape from pain, she offers us a profound gospel alternative: the truth that we each must move toward the broken places inside ourselves and the world. It is precisely there that we will encounter God's transforming love.”
—Ryan Kuja, author of From the Inside Out

“This book will hold your hand, uplift you, and pull you through those days that seem unbearable. Stephanie is the understanding friend we all need. She walks with you because she knows the way of pain, and she knows the Father who offers hope.”
—Kara-Kae James, Executive Director of Thrive Moms and author of Mom Up

“Stephanie offers up parts of her story that speak to grief and struggle and shame and pain. She uses them to create a space in the world where such things can be spoken aloud, reminding us of the fundamental truth that God never abandons us in our pain.”
—Laura Parrott Perry, Cofounder and CEO of Say It, author of She Wrote It Down

“The View from Rock Bottom is the gift the church needs right now. We need a God with whom we are invited to wrestle, who will walk with us on a long pilgrimage. Stephanie reminds us that this is indeed the good God we have.”
—Tina Osterhouse, writer and speaker

“Stephanie journeys with us into vulnerable and holy territory, mapping out for us her own path into suffering and pain. But this isn’t the kind of self-focused exercise that ends in a pit of despair. Stephanie travels with us through the darkness, then shows us the light from a long way off.”
—Shawn Smucker, author of Once We Were Strangers and Light from Distant Stars

“If you’re feeling battered and blown by the storms of life, whether your struggles are spiritual or physical or both, Stephanie is the author you need to read. She has let her roots grow deep, seeking out the living water underground so that her branches can grow and make room for the weary to rest under them.”
—Amanda Martinez Beck, author of Lovely and cohost of the Fat and Faithful podcast

“Stephanie reaches out from the pages to draw the reader in with compassion and questions that make the book feel like a dialogue. The chapter on community brought me to tears, with a description of what a church could look like if it really believed that ‘those…who seem to be weaker are indispensable’ (1 Corinthians 12:22).”
—Jessica Kantrowitz, author and theologian