The following is a review of an advanced reader copy of Restoring Your Wounded Heart by Brya Hanan, release date: September 10, 2026 by Ave Maria Press.
I’ve read many Catholic books aimed at helping readers with their trauma and mental health issues but few have left me feeling not only seen but also encouraged and hopeful without feeling like I’ve failed as a Catholic.
Sometimes we get books that are (understandably) heavier on the theology and we don’t get enough of the scientific and psychological. There’s nothing wrong with them except that some readers will feel like they failed at trusting God or that they didn’t do enough to combat what they feel or experienced. I was so grateful that this book wasn’t one of them. I do think it’s not as heavy on the theology but there’s the perfect amount of it. Ms. Hanan leads with concrete details, adds stories from either her own personal experience or those of others, and then she adds the Catholic perspective that we need to balance things in our pursuit of holiness.
This book ARC came at the perfect time for me as I was going through some traumatic events that I didn’t realize I wasn’t handling well. I thought the physical symptoms were other things and not a reaction to the repressed anxiety and mistrust the events had created in me.
While there were hard topics discussed, it was done with the reader’s mental, emotional, and spiritual wel-being at the center of it. In fact, the author encouraged readers to take breaks and to use an appendix full of tips to navigate through these difficult reflections in order to not trigger something worse.
I will definitely purchase this book when it is published as I feel like it’s one that I will keep returning to many times.
Thank you, NetGalley and Ave Maria Press, for the advance reader copy.
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