‘Wounded Healer’ Helps Next Generation See Through the Lens of Hope

Bestselling author, college chaplain and epilepsy survivor Chris Maxwell helps America’s youth cope with alarming online exploitation, sexual abuse and drugs in his new book, “Things We’ve Handed Down,” out October 1.

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August 27, 2024

FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga., Aug. 27, 2024 /Christian Newswire/ — A veteran Christian author who devotes his life to campus ministry has written a new book that speaks to our social media-dependent generation that suffers from loneliness but fears intimacy and digital connections that offer the illusion of authentic friendship.

Chris Maxwell, a bestselling author and college pastor, was diagnosed with a near-fatal case of encephalitis in 1996. It gave him a new perspective on life and relationships.

In Things We Passed On: Twelve Letters I Leave for YouMaxwell shares a personal collection of letters and stories that reflect lessons he learned from influential books that “authors passed on to him,” he said.

“My personal grief, my own wounds, my tears, have taught me more about what I want to pass on to others,” said Maxwell, a “wounded healer” who supports others while living with epilepsy.

“Hope in the storm — like the calming eye of a hurricane. Certainty when nothing good news is coming — like wearing a lens of faith that offers a different perspective,” he said.

In Things we’ve passed onMaxwell gives his readers powerful memories from his life of death, grief, love, acceptance, forgiveness, disappointment, joy, long walks with Grandpa, meeting new friends, and even leading a funeral service.

“This is life. When the good and the bad mingle. When the laughter and the tears sit together. When the joy and the tears hold hands,” Maxwell said.

“In these stories I try to continue to convey thoughts that I’ve learned, thoughts that I wish I could apply better, thoughts that I think others could apply better,” he said.

In a chapter titled “Wounded Healer,” Maxwell offers a salve for the damaging words passed down from parents, siblings, grandparents, classmates, neighbors, pastors, teachers, coaches and strangers that still play on the minds of people, young and old. “Those statements continue to wound your deepest self — I’m sorry.”

“Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is not a cliché. That word is an important part of this letter. I feel bad about your wounds, your scars, your limp,” he said.

Legacy of alarming dangers passed on to social media generation

The book, which will be released on October 1, highlights the horrific dangers facing the social media-dependent generation: often lonely children and young teens who unknowingly form friendships with predators online.

According to Maxwell, a father of three, some of the alarming trends being passed on to the next generation in America include:

• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are 4 million cases of child abuse and neglect each year
• Nearly 800,000 12- to 17-year-olds use illegal drugs
• It is estimated that there are 500,000 online predators who sexually exploit children, with more than half of those children between the ages of 12 and 15.

Finally, Maxwell advises readers to “notice their wounds and resist any tendency to deny, ignore, or avoid them… Wounds are where the light comes in.”

About the author

Chris Maxwell came to Emmanuel College as Director of Spiritual Life and Campus Pastor after pastoring a church in Orlando, Florida for 19 years. His best-selling book, Underwater: When Encephalitis, Brain Damage and Epilepsy Change Everythingexplores how encephalitis nearly cost him his life. The scarring in his brain and epilepsy left him—and his family—with a permanent change. Maxwell speaks at churches, retreats, conferences, and medical conventions around the world. He and his wife, Debbie, have three sons.

MEDIA: For more information and to arrange an interview, please contact:
Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660 / [email protected]

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CONTACT: Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660, [email protected]