Book: Escape Routes For People Who Feel Trapped in Life’s Hells

Book Reviews

Escape Routes For People Who Feel Trapped in Life’s Hells

By Johann Christoph Arnold
(Farmington, Pa.: The Plough Publishing House, 2001; 197 pages; $10.00)

Reviews by Craig M. Kibler
August 2002

People suffer in today’s society, and some suffer more than others – not just the momentary misery many people experience, the unhappiness that quickly comes and goes – but the constant torment some feel day in and day out, the personal hell in which they find themselves trapped.

Using a tough-love approach to such issues as despair, loneliness and frustration, Arnold is upfront about how to deal with such suffering – confront it, even though the problems may appear to be overwhelming. Each of us, he says, can make a difference by determining “to be selfish or selfless; to forgive or to hate; to burn with lust or with love; to defend your personal power, or dismantle it.”

Using real-life case histories, he shows that such a determination, such a breaking down of barriers, can become through grace a transforming experience – a way of seeking heaven out of hell. As Arnold says:

“If only we were able to break down a few of the barriers that separate us, we might not resign ourselves so quickly to the idea that they are an unavoidable fact of life, but open our hearts to the richness that human experience affords both in the sheer miracle of our individual existence, and in the joy of meaningful interaction with others.”

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