Messy Hope: Help Your Child Overcome Anxiety, Depression, or Suicidal Ideation

Lori Wildenberg, mom of a daughter who has wrestled with depression, is passionate about helping parents help their children navigate a messy life. Lori is a licensed parent and family educator, national speaker, and author or coauthor of six parenting books including Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home and The Messy Life of Parenting: Powerful and Practical Ways to Strengthen Family Connections.

“We are living through an epidemic of anxiety and loneliness. The first step to addressing these huge issues is to talk about them and share our personal stories. Lori Wildenberg is our trusted guide as she shares stories from her family and beyond that give us the gift of “going first.” She then offers practical approaches to parents, or anyone walking alongside someone struggling, on how to help our young people recenter on the truth God offers. Messy Hope is a book about honesty; getting honest about both the mess of our actual lives and the hope found in God’s promises. You will be better equipped to love people by reading this book.”

—Alexandra Kuykendall, cofounder of The Open Door Sisterhood, author of Loving My Actual Life

“Lori Wildenberg has done it again! The stories, insights, practical wisdom, and God-confidence she inspires in Messy Hope will change your life. You will be moved by her vulnerability and challenged by her courage. This gift from Lori will help you stay the course no matter what happens in your life. As a pastor, I will always have multiple copies of this encouraging book available in my office. I will use it as a powerful source of hope for those who struggle. Thank you, Lori, for sharing Kendra’s story (and yours) with us.”

—Kurt W. Bubna, pastor and author

“I’m such a failure…No one cares about me…I haven’t felt happy for a long time…I don’t want to live anymore…”

If you have heard your child utter these words, your fear for their wellbeing has skyrocketed. But what can you do to help them?

Some experts say that depression and anxiety are the new normal. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people. As parents, we cannot accept this. Many young people feel helpless and hopeless. Our kids must be equipped with more than resilience and positivity. They need hope. Hope for a future. Along with her daughter Kendra, parent and family educator Lori Wildenberg encourages you to take the practical ways offered in Messy Hope to foster necessary hope growth in your children’s hearts. Help them overcome depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation to experience a hope-filled life.

Lori Wildenberg, mom of a daughter who has wrestled with depression, is passionate about helping parents help their children navigate a messy life. Lori is a licensed parent and family educator, national speaker, and author or coauthor of six parenting books including Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home and The Messy Life of Parenting: Powerful and Practical Ways to Strengthen Family Connections, as well as being a freelance writer for Christian parenting magazines and the cohost of Moms Together podcast.