About the Book

Every one of us has experienced longer or shorter periods of anxiety, anger, guilt, discouragement, or loneliness. In forty years as a pastor, Johann Christoph Arnold has seen it all. But he’s also witnessed the most hopeless lives completely transformed. That’s why he is convinced that, no matter what problems you currently face, you too can find the freedom, confidence, and fulfillment that you long for.

In Escape Routes, Arnold tells real-life stories of people who have found their way out of life’s hells despite the odds. This isn’t a self-help book. It offers no quick fixes or superficial makeovers. But if you’re ready to take its medicine, it will guide you on your way to a more hopeful and meaningful life.

Arnold writes: “Call it life, call it hell: there’s not a person I’ve met who hasn’t been lonely, discouraged, depressed, or guilt-ridden at one time or another, if not sick, burned-out, or at sea in a relationship. Sometimes I know this because they have told me about their problems; sometimes I can tell just by looking in their eyes. That’s what got me started on this book – the fact that all of us have known some form of hell in our lives, and that insofar as any of us find freedom, confidence, companionship, and community, we will also know happiness.”

Book Trailer

Praise

Enjoyable, meaningful, and helpful. Not a ‘talk down’ but a thoughtful read.

Barbara Bedell, Times Herald-Record

Not many authors pack as much wisdom, and as little fluff, into a page as Arnold. If you're wondering who you want to be when you grow up, Escape Routes offers a road map to real life. If you're already grown up and wondering if you missed something, this book offers a hard but real path to rebirth.

Andy Crouch, Christianity Today

Beautiful…Arnold does not give us a magic formula for coping with life’s hells – there is none – but gently reminds us that the first step begins with ourselves. Drawing on the wisdom of men and women of many faiths, this book is one that can be appreciated by all.

Ari L. Goldman, Columbia University

Arnold dispenses much practical advice while exposing the roots of such human perennials as loneliness, frustration, alienation, and despair. Sometimes his medicine is Zen-like in its common sense.

Booklist

A humble and thoughtful offering…with stories and personal anecdotes that gently urge readers to a more meaningful life.

Foreword Reviews

Escape Routes is a gem of a book from an infinitely wise pen – a lucid, poetic, and pragmatic companion for “people who feel trapped in life’s hells.” Though rooted in the author’s personal faith, it transcends religious boundaries and has universal, ecumenical appeal.

Shira Dicker, National Foundation for Jewish Culture

Tablet of Contents

  1. Loneliness
  2. Against Despair
  3. Rescuing the Past – Read an excerpt
  4. Success?
  5. Sex
  6. Crucibles
  7. Suffering
  8. Rebirth
  9. Travel Guides – Read about Dorothy Day and Che Guevara.
  10. Angels – Read an excerpt
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