‘Wise and real, this book by Sharon draws on her experience of recovery as a doctor and a patient. It’s an honest, practical and very helpful resource for those with severe mental health issues.’

Emma Scrivener, author of A New Name: Grace and healing for anorexia

‘Tending to My Thoughts is a book that needs to be read by every pastor. It not only illuminates the reality of living with severe mental illness, but points to the hope that is found in Jesus, and the ways in which people can experience recovery even when a cure does not come. For fellow sufferers, it provides a wise companion for the journey. Sharon writes with clarity, but more importantly with compassion, and this is a book I will return to time and again.’

Rachael Newham, author and project manager at Kintsugi Hope

‘Sharon Hastings has followed up on her powerful testimony Wrestling with My Thoughts with a book threaded with realism, practicality and, above all, hope. She never resorts to easy answers nor a pretence of plain sailing in her recovery – she is too vulnerably honest for that. But what she does do is encourage all who read her hard-won words that things can change. A more positive future, even within the darkest constraints of mental illness, is not just possible but available. Thank you, Sharon!’

Mark Meynell, author of When Darkness Seems My Closest Friend, preaching trainer and cultural critic

‘A unique and brilliant book full of realism and hope. Sharon walks us through her journey of recovery. She speaks with raw honesty, not hiding her failures or glossing over her pain. Recovery is not simply cure, but living a life that is filled with purpose, and even joy, despite battling mental illness. She examines those tools that she has found helpful, looking at them through a Christian lens. I found the last chapter, on our eternal hope, most encouraging. As you read this book you will find yourself engaged with the story and helped by Sharon’s wisdom.’

Paul Ritchie, pastor of Limerick Baptist Church and author of Is It Unspiritual to Be Depressed?

‘Sharon is one of my favourite mental health writers. She is seriously intelligent, deeply practical and disarmingly honest. Tending to My Thoughts exhibits the best of her writing in perhaps the most helpful exploration of serious mental illness you will ever read. It combines personal account, expert opinion and vital faith in equal measure. I recommend it unreservedly.’

Revd Will van der Hart, director of Mind and Soul Foundation

At the age of six, Sharon Hastings self-published her first book: The Long Train Went Under the Bridge, held together with staples. Writing has always been a big part of her life. She told her teachers she wanted to be an author when she grew up, and that dream never really left her, even when her love of people and her desire to help them drew her towards a career in medicine.

As a medical student, Sharon wrote for magazines and websites, and notably saw her ‘History of Gastric Surgery in Belfast’ (a ...