Jesus’ statements about blessing – the Beatitudes – may sound inexplicably strange to anyone unaccustomed to his way of thinking. But in this slim book, Rebekah Domer gently leads her readers into the heart of Jesus’ teaching by introducing us to the stories she has encountered through her work as a hospice chaplain. There is perhaps no better way to grasp what Jesus meant than through reading and pondering the stories of lives lived well and faithfully, and the stories with which Domer has blessed us are truly a gift.

This small but powerful book should be in every hospital and hospice library. It provides comfort and wisdom for those struggling with life’s ultimate questions.

This is at once a simple and sophisticated piece of work. There are raw moments and joy-filled moments and the book moves between the two with an ease that itself conveys the central message.

Broken but Blessed exemplifies what it means to live a life built upon the Beatitudes. Being blessed is not to be lucky, nor is to escape the difficult moments of living and ultimately dying. For those who work in chaplaincy of any type, this book has much to say about living to the fullest in light of adversity, recognizing that from that adversity there is a beatitude – a blessing – to be found and experienced.

Here is a labor of love that searches out the rich treasure trove that is the Beatitudes. Rebekah Domer draws on life experience where joy and pain mingle in the refining of the life of faith. A book to treasure.

Broken but Blessed is rooted in the Beatitudes, which are so desperately needed today. In these teachings, Jesus lifts up the poor and the weak and the helpless. He totally upends the world’s understanding of what brings happiness. … I am convinced that, like the amazing people Rebekah Domer has profiled in this book, you too can find the peace that the Beatitudes offer.