Book Review - Leaving Yesterday Behind

Book Review: Leaving Yesterday Behind - A Victim No More

“Leaving Yesterday Behind” (1997, Christian Focus Publications: Ross-Shire, Great Britain) by William Hines is a book which seeks to do more than offer utopian “you can change” rhetoric. This easy to read book seeks to offer hope and healing to readers who have undergone traumatic experiences and are seeking to be released from the bondage of yesterday. In the introduction the author writes, “the same things that hurt the rest of the world hurt Christians too…None of us is immune to the attitudes and behaviors that eat away at the soul. But the struggles don’t have to be of such tragic proportions to have a negative effect.” (page 11) To this truth the author offers a biblical process that offers hope. “Regardless of a person’s past it is possible to make a break with the cycles of sin and disappointment that have dogged him or her” (page 12).

The book is divided into four sections: The Problem, The Promise, The Process and The Purpose. Section three, made up of eight chapters, comprises the majority of the book with the other three sections each being only one chapter in length.

The first section, The Problem, asks the question, “What is my problem and who is to blame?” To be honest, I was ready to stop reading the book after this chapter. The literary approach taken by the author, writing from the perspective of helping “Jean,” seemed canned and forced the purpose of the book into a “this is the only kind of problem I can fix” focus. The author adds to the confusion when he writes, “The sinful nature is passed on biologically as we are born into bodies which will deteriorate and die; spiritually, the sin nature is passed on in our predisposition to sin.” (page 20). Which is it? Biological and genetic or spiritual?

Section two, The Promise, gives a detailed explanation of the gospel and points the reader to realize that the problems we deal with are not caused by others but our fallen nature (page 27). While I agree, I’m not sure if a book written to people with tremendous hurts and destructive pasts should be told that there abusive husband, father, parents, rapist, etc. is not to blame. It’s the fault of the victim. Way to go. Think I’ll go out and have a martini with my anti-depressants. Yes it’s true, but before a discussion on how my sinful nature is to blame for everything, I would have expected some empathy. I would have expected some clear teaching on what scripture has to say about evil and how, as the introduction states, “the same things that hurt the rest of the world hurt Christians too.” (page 11). I think that at this point in the book a distinction should have been made between what has happened to us in the past (yes, some people actually are innocent victims) and how to overcome our past through the power of salvation and all it offers, especially the power to forgive others and find true peace in Christ. I’ve been raped, abused, violated by a close relative. I’ve been told that it’s my fault. Do I really need to be hit over the head at this point in the book with being told that the source of our “guilt and shame” is our fault? (page 30).

The third section, The Process, once again uses the story of Jean to try to teach truth. In addition, the author uses a personal experience to prove his point. On pages 40-42 he describes a childhood experience with a river. On page 41 the river is symbolic of the “The truth there is a flow to life.” Instead of learning from his childhood experience to avoid foolish danger, we are exhorted to “step out and experience the sweeping changes that God says he can make in my life” (page 41). This sends a mixed message. Is God out to drown us or to help us? Would the author be willing to step into the middle of a raging river again just because he wasn’t drowned the first time?

The author then writes on page 42, “When I think of getting into the flow of what God is doing, I think of grace as the water which moves me along… As the water in the river, it completely envelopes (spelling mistake his) us and moves us along.” Now we have mixed metaphors. First the river is described as dangerous, then it symbolizes our lives, then it symbolizes grace. I prefer to think of God’s grace and His promises as something greater than “jump in and hope God doesn’t drown you.”

I truly like this book. Although there are several parts that I feel are added just to add length, I think that there is a valuable and relevant message hidden beneath cornball Jean and poor illustrations. It is the message of change through a process of discovering God and the new life He offers. From page 44 on the book begins to offer hope as it deals with our lack of understanding, our inability to forgive ourselves and our resistance to accept change, even change for the better. Other than the allusion on page 77 to emotional problems being “actually due to organic dysfunction…a physiological connection” which may prompt readers to seek pharmacological help instead of spiritual help, this book is worth reading. Chapter 8, which deals with resentment and anger needs to be carefully studied and applied.

Without a doubt, what makes this book so valuable are the Study Guides at the end of each chapter. In many ways, the most valuable part of this book is the opportunity to personally reflect and apply what was written. While we cannot forget (page 119) we can leave yesterday behind.