Don J. Payne 
Surviving the Unthinkable 
Choosing to Live After Someone You Love Chooses to Die

Losing a dearly loved family member or friend suddenly, unexpectedly, and tragically jars us at our very core. We shudder at the thought of it. When that loss results from a suicide it defies and assaults everything in us. The unthinkable is often considered not survivable. In Surviving the Unthinkable theology professor Don J. Payne exits the classroom and invites you into the chambers of his personal experience of that indescribable loss. This intensely personal narrative traces his process through shock, grief, anger, fear, and a host of unexpected sensations to redemption and hope. Yet, he offers no psychological analysis or formula to make it all OK. Here you will find hope–gritty, realistic hope that will deepen the resources of anyone who walks the unthinkable path of losing someone they love to suicide. Life on the other side of such a nightmare will never be the same, but there is life and it can be good. Don Payne gives voice to the experience in a way that extends a healing hand to any who wonder if they can survive.

About the author

Don J. Payne is Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Theology and Ministry at Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado. After earningthe MDiv from Denver Seminary, he served for eight years as a minister in the Evangelical Free Church of America. He holds the Ph D from the University of Manchester (Nazarene Theological College).